Who I Am
by LIMBO Dib
Summary: Dib never expected that tripping Zim on the way home from Skool would change everything.  But when Zim wakes up with amnesia, things start to get serious.  NOT ZimxDib, no matter how much it seems like it.  NOT DEAD!
1. Prologue: Blood on the Pavement

"Why are you even bothering to walk home with me?" the ten-year-old boy asked irritatedly as he made his way down the sidewalk. His hair was pitch-black and curved like a scythe, and his brown eyes looked annoyed from behind a pair of thick glasses.

"This is just the way I use to go home, human," the creature walking next to him responded. He had seemingly normal black hair and gray eyes, but he also had strange green skin. Somehow, the way he used the word "human" made it seem like he wasn't one himself.

"Not usually, Zim," the boy muttered, hissing the creature's name through clenched teeth, "Not usually." Zim, the figure he was walking next to, said nothing - he only stared up at the pale orange sky. When he finally spoke up again, he sounded kind of bored.

"You're never going to succeed, Dib," he told the boy, staring straight ahead in a way that seemed somewhat smug, "I'm going to take over this planet. There's nothing you can do about it." He laughed quietly under his breath in a slightly psychotic manner.

Dib scowled. "We'll see about that." he answered, resorting to staring at his feet. In actuality, Dib had no idea how to stop Zim. He was, for lack of a better word, afraid. Nobody believed his theories about Zim being an alien, and even then, he was unpopular and kind of lonely. There was no hope.

Whereas Zim was perfectly calm at that moment, Dib's mind was racing. He was trying to think of ways to at least slow Zim down in his plot to take over the planet. However, at first, nothing came to his mind. The only thing that did was convincing his father that Zim wasn't really a human.

Dib's father, the famous Professor Membrane, only cared about so-called "real" science. He thought Dib's paranormal studies were nothing but a waste of time. Since Dib had been interested in the paranormal since before he could talk, he felt like his dad never really cared about what he did.

Several ideas came into his head as he thought of his dad - reprogram Zim's little robot servant, send him a fake message from his leaders and tell him he was to come back to the base immediately, stab him in the heart - oh, wait, not that last one. Dib really loathed Zim, but not enough to murder him.

Suddenly, one small thought floated around in his mind. It was only one small thing - not enough to really stop Zim, but enough to hinder him for a short time. It was childish - babyish, even - but it still had a chance of working. And Dib was going to put it into action.

The ten-year-old boy sighed and casually stuck out his leg. Zim yelped as he tripped over it and landed face-down on the sidewalk. Dib grinned. "The human race: one! Zim: zero!" he cried triumphantly, pumping his fists in the air and laughing happily.

After a little while of this, he looked down and noticed that Zim was still lying there. "...Er, Zim?" Dib began, staring down at his archenemy, "Are you okay?" His smile faded, but only slightly. Dib knelt down and glared at the body of Zim.

"Great," he muttered after some slight observation, "I knocked him out. Better abandon the scene of the crime..." He looked around, wondering if anyone was watching him. Suddenly, something flashed out of the corner of his eye. His eyes darted down and he was in for a shock.

A fine trail of crimson blood dripped down Zim's head. No matter how morbid it sounded, Dib had always wondered what color Irken blood was like. Now, he knew. For a moment, he merely stared at it, lost in his own world of proving how truly evil Zim was.

When the blood began to form a small pool on the pavement, Dib finally snapped out of it and realized just how much trouble he would be in if someone saw this. He suddenly remembered that Gaz, his sister, would be approaching soon - she always got home later than he did.

Dib shakily got to his feet and looked around once more. Blood was still dripping onto the ground, and it was beginning to really freak him out. He closed his eyes, trying to blot the vision of Zim bleeding out of his head, and dashed down the sidewalk.

...

Zim's dysfunctional robotic servant, Gir, sat upside-down on the living room couch, absorbed in his favorite cartoon. Unlike most SIR robots given to Irken invaders, he almost never obeyed Zim's commands in a precise manner. Most of the time, he never obeyed them at all.

As the show switched over to a commercial about soap, Gir's cyan eyes stared out the window and at the outside world. The sun was beginning to go lower in the sky. _Shouldn't Master be home by now? _Gir thought, wondering at the same time if soap tasted good.

Feeling bored of watching the soap commercial, Gir got up and walked over to the window. For a split-second, he thought he saw a boy running away, but then he was gone. The little robot looked down the sidewalk and rather suddenly noticed Zim.

Every single command Zim had ever told Gir to perform stood right in front of him. A surge of an emotion Gir had never felt before hit him hard - fear. He got up and immediately slipped into his dog costume before opening the door and racing outside.

Gir sped down the sidewalk, feet making tiny squeaking sounds as he went. Any bystanders would've thought he was nothing but a runaway dog, but things were different inside Gir's head. Other than the huge abundance of random thoughts, the only thing he could think of was Zim.

Gir skidded to a halt in front of Zim's body and paused for a moment just to look at it. His expression was blank and lifeless - he had never actually seen blood before. He whimpered slightly and lifted Zim up into his arms, and even though Zim was heavier than him, he managed.

Suddenly, he looked up and noticed a girl with purple hair and dark eyes walking up to him. Staying silent, Gir raced away, carrying Zim's semi-lifeless body all the way back to their house, and hoping he was still alive...or that he still had a chance at life.


	2. Chapter 1: When I Awake

When he finally came to, he found himself lying on a couch and staring up at the ceiling. He felt utterly confused and lost for a moment - it was like he was somewhere far away, somewhere lost and distant, and he still hadn't returned from his journey there.

_It doesn't matter, _he thought, _I'll just return in a second. I'll remember what happened, and I can get back to whatever I was doing. _The brain of anything, human or invader, always has its moments in which it seems to forget everything and then remembers it all.

The sun was hanging low in the sky. That was the first thing he noticed. The sky was gradually turning a darker orange, and would eventually become pitch-black. He remembered this, and wondered what exact time it was. At that moment, he couldn't tell.

He heard a faint squeaking sound coming from another room. He felt too tired to sit up and figure out what it was, however. The period of disorientation he was stuck in seemed to be lasting much longer than usual. It was like he was...trapped there.

_I don't understand, _he thought, _Why am I not waking up?...Maybe if I just remember my name, I'll get out of this state of loss. That's it. My name is..._He was still lost. He couldn't remember his own name. He couldn't remember anything...anything at all.

His head hurt. He felt too weak to move, and his head was paining him. He felt like something was stuck to one side of his face, but he couldn't move to touch it and figure out what it was. The squeaking in the other room began to grow louder.

A little robot with bright cyan eyes came into the room at that moment. "Hi!" the robot told him in a high-pitched, excited-sounding voice, "You're finally awake!" He tried to recall the robot's name, but nothing came into his head - just empty space...

He couldn't remember. He couldn't remember _anything._

?

Gir had been in the other room, making muffins like he usually did when he wanted to cheer someone up...or when he just randomly felt like it. This time, they were blueberry. Blueberries reminded Gir of his own eyes - they were both some shade of blue, weren't they?

He could only hope his master would accept a muffin. Normally, he just ignored them. _Does Master not like muffins? _Gir thought, _That's strange. Everyone likes muffins. _He shrugged and put all of the muffins onto a silver platter and rushed into the main room.

"Hi!" he cried cheerfully, placing the plate of muffins onto a nearby table that had randomly been put in the main room a few hours ago, "You're finally awake!" Gir's master gave him a look. For some strange reason, it seemed...pained. The little SIR robot wondered why.

"...Are you okay, Master?" Gir asked after a brief period of silence, "What's wrong?" His master said nothing, his hurt expression still not fading. Gir eyed the bandage he had put on the cut that was on the side of his master's face when he found him.

A bit of blood had soaked through the bandage, which still scared Gir a little. However, he held his fear back and waited for his master to respond. Once he did, his voice sounded faint and distant. "I...don't know," he began, shuddering slightly.

"Does your head hurt, Master?" Gir asked, wondering why his master sounded kind of sad, "I found you on the sidewalk with a cut on the side of your face." His master's hand twitched a little, as though he was trying to do something, but was still too weak.

"...Yes," he responded, "It hurts. And..." He sighed quietly. "...Would you be, um...scared if I told you I couldn't remember anything?" Gir pondered this for a few moments. _If Master couldn't remember anything...what would it mean for me...?_

"I...guess so," Gir answered, tilting his head slightly in confusion, "Why?" His master sighed yet again and stared up at the ceiling worriedly. Deep inside his junk-part mind, Gir began to wonder what was going on inside his master's head. "Is everything okay?" he asked quietly.

"I can't remember anything," his master told him, "I can't even remember my own name. I can't remember why you call me Master, and I can't remember where I am, or what I'm supposed to do in life. Who am I?" He stared at the little robot, wondering why he was even here.

Gir recoiled a little. "M-Master!" he stuttered, "I'm your...your s-servant! Remember?" Shock filled him as his master shook his head. _Master doesn't remember anything! What are we going to do now? What can we do without Master's memories?_

"I'm sorry," Gir's master murmured, "I wish I didn't have to put you through all this. I guess you could call my condition...amnesia." His eyes were affixed on his servant, but his focus was somewhere else - somewhere far away and desolate, where nobody could ever go.

Gir was silent for a few moments. "So..." he began softly, "Do you remember my name?" His master paused, as though he was searching through his mind to find a solution to the puzzle that was in front of him. When the searching stopped, Gir stared up at him hopefully.

"...No," he concluded, "I don't...remember your name. I'm sorry." Tears began to well up in Gir's eyes, but he held them back. He wasn't going to cry - not now. Not when his master needed help. And right now, his master really needed help.

"Gir, reporting for duty," he told his master in a weak, shaky voice, "D-do you want a muffin? I made them myself..." He picked up a muffin from the platter and handed it to his master. He nodded, smiled slightly, and bit into the blueberry muffin. Suddenly, he laughed a bit.

"This tastes great...Gir," his master responded, patting Gir on the head, "Thank you." Gir smiled a little, knowing that, since his master couldn't remember anything, things would probably never be the same...and yet, no matter what, he would stay by his master's side.

?

Dib's feeling of safety continuously increased as he walked up to the front door of his house. As usual, the door was unlocked - _At least Dad remembers to do _that_, _Dib thought sadly, pushing the door open and stepping inside the place he had apparently lived in for all of his ten years.

The living room looked reasonably clean, although there was a potato chip bag on the ground that had probably been dropped by Gaz, Dib's sister. Dib couldn't help but wonder how she could eat so much and still be so skinny. It was a strange thing to think about.

Dib sighed quietly, put the bag in the nearby trash can, and walked off to enter his room. His room was, for lack of a better word, unusual. Littered with several posters and toys from his childhood, it was so perfectly unique that only someone like Dib could possibly own it.

Locking the door behind him, Dib sat down on his bed and took a few moments to stare at the wall. He was still thinking about what he had done to Zim. The bloody image was still locked in his mind, and would probably stay there for at least a few more days.

After about a minute of this, Dib jumped down and looked under the bed, pulling out a shoebox and placing it on the bedspread. The only things inside this shoebox were a sketchbook and a pencil. He pulled both of them out and started sketching something random.

Within minutes, he had finished a simple doodle of Zim. He wondered why he was even drawing his worst enemy, and returned to staring at the wall. When he took another look at his drawing, he scowled - he had absentmindedly drawn blood trickling down Zim's head.

"What's wrong with me?" he asked himself, "Why can I not get that image out of my head? It's like...I did something really bad. But...it's not like I _killed _him or anything...right?" Dib sighed and wondered if he really had killed him. Maybe Zim really _was _dead.

Dib remembered just how much he had always wanted to stop Zim. However, the thought of Zim dying sounded...cruel. It almost sounded like murder. Dib had never thought of murdering someone before. "I..." he began, "I might have...killed Zim."

Suddenly, Gaz, having just got home, broke through the lock and barged into her brother's room. "I saw that stupid green dog carrying your alien friend away. It looked like he was bleeding, too." She then left, leaving the door wide open...which Dib hated.

He got to his feet, slammed the door shut, and wondered if Zim had survived. _I can't believe this, _he thought miserably, _I'm getting so worked up over a simple trip. All I did was stick out my leg, and now...Seriously. _Dib sighed, closed his eyes for just a moment, and fell asleep instantly.

This is how Gaz found him a few hours later when it was dinnertime. For the rest of the night, Dib still felt groggy and kind of depressed. Finally, he decided to visit Zim and see what was going on. Without telling anyone where he was going, he left for Zim's house.

The sky was very dark now - just like Dib's mood at that moment. Usually, he hoped it would rain the next day (to get another chance at proving that Zim was an alien), but right now, he just hoped it would be sunny. Dib had the feeling that he needed to cheer up.

When he arrived a few minutes later, he felt like the whole thing had been a bad idea. As a matter of fact, he felt like a total idiot. However, there was no use in backing out - after all, he was already here, and thought the best idea would be to get it over with.

Dib rang the doorbell and waited for someone to answer, although he was hoping it would be Zim. He heard some strange squeaking noises coming from inside, but other than that, he heard nothing. Minutes went by, but nobody answered the door.

Dib sighed. Either Zim was dead, or he wasn't going to answer. Hoping it was the latter, Dib finally decided it would be the best idea to just go home and sleep. After all, he felt much too tired to do anything else. As he walked away, Gir answered the door, saw nobody, and closed it again.

?

"Who was it...Gir?" Gir's master asked softly. He was now sitting up and absentmindedly watching a cartoon. Gir returned and sat down next to him, feet still making those cute little squeaking sounds they always made. He wondered if now would be a good time to make some muffins.

"It wasn't anyone, Master," Gir murmured, "No one at all." The two of them were silent for a few moments. Gir guessed that his master still felt weak - after all, he had been sitting on the couch all night and occasionally flinching as though he was in pain.

"Hey, Master," Gir began quietly, "You still have to go somewhere tomorrow, right? I think it was called...um...Skool, right?" His master looked confused, and finally nodded after being lost in deep thought for a while. When he responded, his voice sounded slightly distant.

"I guess so," he muttered, "But what if everyone figures it out? After all, you've told me who you are, but that's it. I don't remember anything...Maybe staying home would be the best idea." He paused, wondering if it really was the best idea after all.

"...Are you sure, Master?" Gir asked, "I once heard you say that the others would be...superstitious if you didn't show up. That is what you said, right?" His master was still silent, and Gir realized that if it was what he had said, it didn't matter - he couldn't remember.

"I think you mean 'suspicious,' not 'superstitious,' Gir," he finally stated, "But you were close." Gir smiled cheerfully and bit into a muffin. "You're right, though..." his master pondered, staring off into space, "Whoever's at this 'Skool' place might get suspicious. But why would they...?"

_Maybe I'll figure it out if I go there tomorrow, _he thought. "Okay, then," Gir's master told him, "I'm going to Skool tomorrow." Gir said nothing, but was looking up at his amnesiac master as though he knew everything. He didn't, but Gir's master was like a role model to him, memories or not.


	3. Chapter 2: My First Friend

Dib sighed and stared out of the bus window. Normally, he didn't take the bus to school, but today was an exception - he had the sudden urge to stay away from Zim. He remembered all the times Zim had gotten his sweet revenge, and they were awful.

_If I caused him to bleed and possibly really hurt him, _Dib thought, _he's going to be really mad at me. I should probably stay out of his way. _Bad music played on the radio, and Dib could only try to block it all out. However, the only thing that could block it out was Zim.

He wondered what Zim was thinking about right at that moment. Perhaps he was thinking about his revenge...Dib tried to forget about Zim by watching his sister listen to music on her MP3 player, but when she stared to glare at him, he decided stopping would be the best idea.

There was one plus side to riding the bus, though - nobody ever wanted to sit by him because of his unpopularity. That meant nobody would crush him every time the bus made a sharp turn. Dib smiled a little and forgot about Zim for just a while.

He resigned himself to staring out the window, wondering what was going on outside. Several different events were going on, but Dib ignored them, only watching the pale gray sky. It was cloudy - he wondered if it would rain later. However, rain just brought him back to Zim.

Dib's smile faded as he recalled Zim's allergy to water. He remembered how Zim acted as if it was acid that had been thrown on his skin. Everything was so familiar that it hurt. He closed his eyes and tried his hardest to forget about everything that had happened yesterday.

Suddenly, his barrage of thoughts was interrupted by Gaz, who was sitting in the seat behind him and watching him. "Something's bothering you," she muttered, "I can tell. Is it about your stupid alien friend?" Dib sighed quietly and nodded, saying nothing more.

Gaz didn't say anything else - she had the feeling that talking to her brother would be a waste of time. According to Dib, she usually had this thought and almost never spoke to him in at least a tolerable manner. He sighed again, wishing he had someone to talk to.

The bus finally pulled up to Skool after what seemed like an extremely long interval of Dib wondering if he truly mattered to anyone. _Dad doesn't care about me. Gaz hates me. Zim hates me, but since I hate him back, that's okay, I guess..._

The students got off of the bus in a cluster, with Dib somewhere along the outside edge. He escaped the crowd of kids and walked into the building alone. A feeling of depression filled him as he stared up at the cloudy sky. He was still nervous about Zim.

After walking down the hallway in silence, Dib finally entered the classroom and sat down at his usual seat. Zim wasn't in the room. Fear surged through the ten-year-old as he stared at Zim's empty desk. He began to wonder if he had been right all along - _Maybe Zim really is dead._

Dib instantly relaxed as Zim entered the room - late, oddly enough. He sat down at his desk, acting normal - well, normal in that "Zim" way. However, something was different about him, and Dib couldn't place it. Not even recalling everything about their previous fights helped.

Class started then, and throughout the lesson, Dib let his mind wander. From the back, nothing seemed to be wrong with Zim. He still looked perfectly fine. Dib craned his neck to see what was wrong, but his teacher caught him trying to see and singled him out.

"Dib," Miss Bitters began with a nasty sneer, "are you trying to spot something from where you are? Perhaps...some sort of _girlfriend?_" The rest of the class laughed, and Dib buried his face in his hands sadly. He felt his face grow red and wondered what Zim was doing.

He peered through his fingers for a slight moment and noticed that, yes, Zim was staring at him. However, the expression he had was what gave it away. Dib expected him to be laughing too, but instead, his expression was blank, and even slightly confused.

Class resumed - with difficulty - and everyone returned to what they were doing. However, Dib couldn't get Zim's face out of his head. It looked like he had been injured by Dib tripping him, but the cut on the side of his face had healed just fine.

_Zim..._Dib thought, still not paying attention to the lesson, _What happened to you? Why is your expression so empty? Are you...okay? _These questions lingered in his mind long after they had been asked, and he decided he just had ask Zim about his condition.

?

Dib entered the cafeteria in silence. Most of the other students had already gotten their food and sat down - they were now conversing as though everything was normal. Dib stared at his feet - nothing was ever normal for him, especially not now.

His eyes darted over to where Zim usually sat, but he wasn't there. Instead, the blank-looking kid had sat down in the corner of the cafeteria. He had gotten lunch, but as usual, he wasn't eating it. However, the unusual part was his empty expression, still there on his face.

Dib approached him quietly, wondering what he would say. Maybe he would just slap him, or punch him, or mix his DNA with that of a raisin. Maybe he wouldn't do anything - he would be speechless at what Dib had done. That seemed unlikely, though.

Before he got the courage to speak to Zim, Dib looked over at Gaz. She had sat down at their usual table, and was giving him a strange look as she bit into that day's lunch - some sort of orange glop. Dib sighed, turned back to Zim, and spoke up.

"Um..." he began quietly, wondering why he hadn't thought up what he was going to say beforehand, "...Hi?" He gave himself a mental kick - that sounded incredibly stupid. Now Zim was definitely going to mix his DNA with the raisin. Dib cringed, preparing for the worst.

At first, it looked like Zim hadn't heard him, but then he looked up and noticed Dib. However, instead of attempting to kill him, Zim only smiled slightly. "H-hello," he stuttered, sounding kind of nervous, "I, um...need a little help with s-something. Could you...um...tell me my name?"

"Huh?" Dib asked, having been caught completely off guard, "What do you mean? Your name is Zim...don't you remember? I mean, it _is _Zim...right? You haven't changed it or anything?" He had no idea what was going on...why wasn't Zim trying to kill him?

"Zim," Zim began softly, experimenting with how the name felt when he said it, "I guess that must be my name. Thanks for helping me out." He smiled happily, which only made Dib even more nervous. "What's your name?" he asked, still smiling.

Deciding that it wouldn't hurt anything, Dib sat down next to him. "M-my name's Dib. Dib Membrane..." he explained, "but why do you ask? Can't you remember all this? Did something happen?" Zim's smile faded, his expression distant and somewhat gloomy.

"I woke up yesterday and couldn't remember anything," he admitted, "The only things I've been told are that I have some sort of servant named Gir and that I'm supposed to go to Skool every morning." He sighed and stared at his feet, feeling guilty for some weird reason.

Dib pondered this for a moment. _Does that mean...Zim has amnesia? _he asked himself, _Did I cause this? I must have...I guess I injured his head and made him forget everything. Oh, I feel horrible. _He sighed and restricted himself from slapping his own forehead.

"You have amnesia, then?" Dib asked nervously. Zim looked up and nodded. Dib wondered what this meant for him. His worst enemy was pretty much helpless now, and he was in control. He could tell Zim anything, and he would believe it...well, almost anything, but oh, well.

Deciding he didn't need to eat (he wasn't all that hungry), Dib spent the next few moments telling Zim about the students at Skool. He even told him about his sister. "Gaz is two years younger than me, but she pretty much hates everyone. You might want to stay away from her."

Lunch went by, and Zim and Dib were still talking. Zim felt incredibly happy - he was starting to recall everything. He could get back to his old life...whatever it was like. Just then, the lunch bell rang, and the two of them got up from their table.

"Hey," Dib began, scribbling directions down on a piece of scrap paper, "You should come to my house after Skool is over. I can tell you a lot more about what your life was like, if you want." He handed the directions to Zim, and he accepted them happily.

"Okay!" Zim cried cheerfully, "I'll stop at my house and then head over there!" Dib smiled and gave him a thumbs-up as they reentered the classroom. As the lesson resumed, Zim decided one thing - in this new life, Dib was definitely his first friend.

?

Zim entered his house, only to find that Gir was sitting on the couch and watching a cartoon, just like he had been doing when Zim had left for Skool that morning. Skool was over now, and Zim walked home with growing excitement about going to Dib's house.

"Hi, Master!" Gir cried excitedly, leaping up and rushing toward him, "How was your day? Did anything exciting happen?" Zim smiled - Gir always seemed to care for him with neverending devotion. Some others might've found it annoying, but Zim thought it was sweet.

"My day was fine," he told his servant, "I really enjoyed it. I just thought I'd stop here before I head out again." Gir looked confused, so Zim made it a little simpler. "I'm going to someone's house today," he explained calmly. Gir understood this and returned to smiling.

"Oh, really?" he asked happily, "Who are you visiting?" Inside, his junk part mind attempted to find an answer. He had never heard of his master going to visit someone before. Normally, he just stayed at home and worked on something he considered to be important.

"A friend's," Zim answered, "Don't worry, I won't be gone all that long." Gir felt confused, but pushed the feeling away. He didn't remember his master ever having any friends, or at least people he referred to as "friends." It was all very strange.

"Great!" Gir exclaimed, "Should I come, too?" In an instant, he got out a costume from absolutely nowhere and slipped into it. Suddenly, Gir was replaced with a little green dog, who was staring up at Zim expectantly. Zim only looked confused.

"Gir?" he asked, smile fading away, "Why did you do that? Why did you just...become a green dog?" The little green dog who was supposedly Gir unzipped part of the costume to let his original, robotic head become visible. His large, blue eyes looked worried.

"I...always wear this when I go somewhere, Master," he responded, "Don't you...remember?" His eyes seemed even bigger as he looked at his master with a somewhat sad expression. "Don't you...remember, Master? My disguise...don't you remember it?"

Zim sighed quietly. "I'm sorry, Gir," he muttered, "I don't remember your disguise at all. And...I really don't think you should come with me. I'm really sorry, but it sounds like the best option." Gir did nothing at first, but then responded to what Zim said.

He stared down at his feet gloomily. "Oh..." he murmured, not looking up, "Okay." Zim waved quickly before leaving to go to Dib's house. Gir then looked up and watched his master walk down the street, probably off to his friend's house or something.

Tears welled up in Gir's eyes. "D-does Master even care about me anymore...?" he stuttered, letting himself cry, "M-Master...What happened to you?" He buried his face in his little paws and sobbed dejectedly. "D-did you ever care about me...?"


	4. Chapter 3: Learning About Myself

Zim stared down at the piece of paper Dib had given him, trying to figure out exactly what each of the steps meant. It wasn't that they were written in a confusing manner - it was just that Dib had somewhat-sloppy handwriting that was difficult to read.

Thoughts about Gir still lingered in the back of his head. _Why would Gir need a disguise? _Zim thought, _Maybe it's just because nobody would expect to see a little robot like him wandering around in the streets. I guess that's it. _However, the solution sounded strangely false.

_If Gir needed a disguise, _Zim thought, _would I need one as well? Do I even own one? And what exactly am I attempting to conceal? _At first, the matter confused him, but then he decided to ask Dib about it when he arrived. _What am I? _was the biggest question on his mind.

The sun was beating down on the sidewalk, and it felt much too hot for Zim. He sighed and ran a hand through his dark hair, wishing it was just a little bit colder. He hoped it would be colder at Dib's house, and judging from the directions he had been given, he was almost there.

Zim looked up at the sky, which was an odd shade of blue-gray. He wondered if a storm was coming. At the mention of the word "storm," something in the back of his head seemed to go off. He twitched, wondering why that had just happened, but decided to ignore it.

Besides, according to the directions, Dib's house was right in front of him. He walked up to the front door, wondering if it would be considered proper courtesy to knock or not. He noticed a doorbell, and rang it once, hoping he hadn't done something wrong.

Apparently, Zim hadn't messed up, because at that very moment, Dib answered the door. "Hi, Zim!" he began enthusiastically, "Nice to see you. Come on in!" These were the very words that the ten-year-old had once thought he would never say to his worst enemy.

"Um, thanks," Zim responded nervously, not exactly sure about what to say. Dib led him in, and he caught a glimpse of the main room. It was relatively clean, with one couch cushion on the carpeted floor and one potato chip bag, which was also on the floor.

Gaz was sitting on the couch, completely absorbed in a cartoon of some sort. "She's like this every day," Dib muttered, hoping Gaz wouldn't hear it and seek revenge. Gaz's revenge was perhaps the deadliest type in the entire universe - she never gave up.

"Oh, by the way," Dib told Zim, looking around as though he was trying to find something, "My dad's on some trip right now - some sort of science thing. We're supposed to take care of ourselves for the time being, but I highly doubt he'll kill me if I invite you over."

Zim laughed quietly as Dib showed him around. Despite the fact that he had been there many times before, the whole place still looked entirely new to him. As a matter of fact, several of the devices invented by Dib's father that littered the immediate vicinity completely mesmerized him.

"Oh, that?" Dib asked when Zim questioned him about one of them, "That's an old prototype of some sort. It's not all that remarkable, really. He's done some pretty cool things, but that's probably not one of them. Want me to show you something really cool?"

Zim and Dib wandered throughout the house too many times to count, with Zim learning about all sorts of different inventions the great Professor Membrane had thought up. Both of them were enjoying themselves much, much more than they usually did.

"Hey," Dib began, looking away for a second, "Want to see my room?" Zim nodded, and the two of them rushed toward it. Right before he saw it for the first time since he had lost his memory, Zim wondered what Dib's room would look like. He found out a split-second later.

"Wow," Zim breathed, staring around the room in awe, "Cool..." Dib watched, smiling. He had never thought of his room as anything more than okay, but now that Zim mentioned it, his room was pretty awesome. Perhaps it was even better than Gaz's, and that took a lot.

Dib sprang onto the bed and turned a flashlight on to illuminate the wall with its beam. "You said you wanted to learn more about who you are, right? I'm prepared to tell you." The question Zim had been thinking about on the way there was suddenly fresh and alive in his mind.

He jumped up onto Dib's bed and was silent for a moment. The room was almost pitch-dark, which was a huge contrast from how bright it was outside. He knew it was going to take a while for his eyes to adjust, but he could wait - after all, he could just pass the time with questions.

"Well, um..." Zim began, "I was wondering...oh, this sounds so stupid." He sighed and slapped his forehead with one hand, feeling like an idiot. Dib only stared at him expectantly, waiting for him to say whatever so-called "stupid" question was on his mind.

"What...am I?" Zim asked nervously, looking around as though someone was about to pounce on him and eat him like he was a fresh apricot, "Am I...human?" Like Dib had done earlier that afternoon, Zim gave himself a mental kick for asking such a stupid question.

Meanwhile, Dib was going through a whole lot. _What should I tell him? _he asked himself anxiously, _I thought I wasn't going to lie, but...if I tell him he's not human, he'll totally freak out. Oh, man, Zim freaking out would be horrible, amnesia or not. There's not much worse than that._

Finally, he came to a solution. It wasn't a very good solution, but it would get him out of the rut he was stuck in for the time being. As a matter of fact, according to him, his answer was practically reeking with stupidity. However, he said it anyway.

"Yeah," Dib lied, his expression serious, "You're human."

?

After the first question Zim asked, the rest of them were a breeze. Sure, that lie was a difficult one to tell and perhaps a more difficult one to swallow, but it was over now. However, Dib didn't vow that the rest of his answers would be completely true...just in case.

"So how did I behave while at Skool?" "Did I play any musical instruments?" "Was I a fan of video games?" Zim asked questions that seemed to come from the most random parts of his mind. Despite the fact that he answered some of them with lies, Dib answered them all.

"I have no idea where Gir got that disguise," he responded with a smirk, "but I think he wears it because a little robot would probably look really strange in public." Zim laughed, agreeing with pretty much whatever his new friend said, whether it was a lie or not.

After a while, just as a joke, Dib told Zim an answer that was completely out there. "Well," he began, stifling laughter, "both of us are pretty unpopular because you once told everyone you'd pay them one million dollars each if they spoon-fed a fire hydrant with strawberry jelly. I helped you with convincing everyone."

"Yeah, right!" Zim cried, playfully slapping Dib, "For all I know, everything you've been telling me is false!" Both of them burst out laughing, and got into a friendly slap-fight a minute later, with both of them smacking the other continuously...and yet, it didn't hurt.

After a little while of childish slap-fighting, Zim and Dib were interrupted by Gaz, who entered Dib's room and glared at both of them. Suddenly, her expression became one of pure revulsion. "Ick," she muttered grimly, "Just what were you _doing _in here?"

Dib's left eye twitched as he clumsily backed away from Zim and almost fell to the floor. Zim said nothing, but his thoughts were a raging tornado of confusion, strangeness, and a feeling that can only be described in one way: _What the heck?_

"Anyway..." Gaz began, returning to staring at her brother and his friend coldly, "It's dinnertime. Are you staying for dinner?" she asked Zim, looking at him as though he was the most disgusting thing she had ever seen in her entire eight-year life.

Zim paused, trying to calm himself down and forget about Gaz's previous statement about what they had been doing. He didn't feel all that hungry, and he had the feeling that Gaz just wanted to kick him in the head until he started bleeding to death.

"Um, I guess not," Zim muttered, jumping off of the bed, "Thanks for inviting me, Dib." He then cautiously passed Gaz and left the house quickly. Dib would have wondered if something was on his mind if Gaz hadn't said the previous statement that was still creeping him out.

Dib was still frozen like this even after Gaz walked away, slamming the door behind her. After staring straight ahead and wondering what had just happened, Dib shakily got to his feet, slipped off of his bed, and left his room, almost forgetting to turn the flashlight off before leaving.

The whole house seemed strangely empty after Zim had left - it was like Zim had taken a big piece of it with him. It was a weird feeling to have, and the shaky feeling in Dib's legs still hadn't dissipated. He wondered if he was getting sick, but then dismissed the thought.

Meanwhile, Zim was walking home, unsure about what to think. He had left at a fast pace for many reasons, but number one was probably Gaz. The way she had stared at him, and the way she said those few words that only sounded wrong when strung together...it didn't add up.

_Maybe she hated me even before I lost my memory, _Zim thought, _At least that answer makes a little bit of sense. _The sky was starting to grow dark - Zim couldn't believe how dark it had gotten over the course of only a few hours. He wondered if it really was going to storm.

When he finally arrived home - he had gotten lost a few times - the door was unlocked. Zim wondered if he was supposed to lock it, and guessed that it didn't matter. He pushed the door open and entered silently, wondering if anyone was home.

"Gir?" he called quietly, "Are you there, Gir?" Nobody answered his calls, so he decided to sit down and think about that day's events. Everything was very confusing, but he was certain everything would come back together in the end...like a jigsaw puzzle of some sort.

Had Zim looked just around the corner, he would've noticed Gir, who was lying in an odd position on the ground, still in his dog costume and lying almost completely still. He was too nervous to answer Zim's calls, so he merely stayed there and wondered if his master really cared about him.

?

"Hi!" Zim cried cheerfully, sitting down next to Dib at lunch. That day had passed by uneventfully, but Zim had been looking forward to seeing Dib the whole time. After all, they were friends now...unlike how they had once been enemies. It's strange how things work out sometimes.

"Hey, Zim," Dib began happily, staring at the brown slime on his lunch tray and wondering what trash can the cafeteria staff had scraped it out of this time, "What's up?" Never before had he ever thought that he and Zim had even a slight chance of speaking in a friendly manner like this.

"Nothing much," Zim admitted with a smile, "but can you _believe _how boring that last lesson was? I almost fell asleep!" Dib laughed and couldn't help but agree - that last lesson Zim was talking about had been extremely boring. Within minutes, the two of them were conversing in an entirely casual manner.

The table in the corner of the cafeteria had become a normal spot for both Zim and Dib. This was made apparent because the kids that usually sat there had moved - probably to some other table, somewhere farther away. However, it didn't really matter to either of them.

"So, anyway..." Dib told his friend, biting into the brown slime and finding it rather disgusting, "is there anything you want to do today after Skool? I know Gaz interrupted us last night, so maybe we can, um...go see a movie or something...? Would you like that?"

"Why don't we just go to my house?" Zim asked lightly, "I'll show you the way..." Zim stopped abruptly, realizing that Dib might've already known where his house was. However, Dib's friendly smile assured him that he didn't look like a complete idiot.

"That sounds great, Zim," he answered, "I'd love to come. Will you wait for me outside of Skool?" Zim nodded, and the two of them returned to their previous conversation. Although Zim looked just like he had a few minutes before, inside, he felt different.

_Dib's coming over, _he thought excitedly, _Dib is coming to my house. This is going to be so much fun! _Joy and wonder filled him as he realized that he couldn't remember ever inviting someone over before. It was completely new territory - and it sounded amazing! He couldn't wait for Skool to end.


	5. Chapter 4: Fevers and Tears

It had been many days since Zim and Dib had become friends - perhaps even weeks. Neither of them were really counting, so it didn't matter much. The two of them were doing too many fun things to pay attention to how long it had been since they had decided to be friends.

Dib felt like his life had improved drastically since Zim had gotten amnesia. Since he didn't remember that his true mission was to take over the Earth - or that he wasn't truly human - things were turning out quite well. As a matter of fact, Dib could finally be..._normal._

Zim was on top of the world, and maybe even above that. He had never felt so happy before, and if he had, he couldn't remember. The only part of his life that didn't feel all that blissful was Gir, who he hadn't seen in quite a while. It was as though he had disappeared completely.

After yet another trip to Dib's house, Zim arrived home to find that the house was just as empty as it had been when he had left that morning. That day was a Saturday, so neither Zim nor Dib had Skool. Zim had stayed at Dib's much longer than he had anticipated.

Closing the door behind him, Zim caught a glance at the dark sky outside. It was probably going to rain, so he figured that going inside would be the best idea. However, staying inside didn't cheer him up - it just reminded him of Gir, who he hadn't seen in much too long.

"...Gir?" Zim called, "Gir? Are you here? Hello...?" He walked throughout his house, wondering where Gir was. Little did Zim know that he had never been through his entire house - well, at least he hadn't since Dib had tripped him on the way home from Skool.

Finally, after several minutes of searching for his assistant, Zim located a room he hadn't been in before. The door was ajar - he pushed it open slightly and was suddenly surrounded by darkness. He flipped the lightswitch on and found himself in Gir's bedroom.

There was a quiet whimpering coming from the corner of the room. Zim took a few steps and suddenly stepped on something. He looked down and noticed that it was a half-eaten muffin someone had left out. Lying next to it was a trail of crumbs that led to an area behind the bed.

When Zim followed the trail, he found Gir, sprawled in a strange position in the corner of his room. He was still wearing his dog costume, but the hood was down, revealing his sad, blue eyes. Huge piles of muffins lay around him, some half-eaten and some not.

Gir looked up and noticed Zim, but it made tears brim in his large eyes. "M-Master..." he stuttered weakly, "Wh-what are...you doing...here?" Zim felt horrible as he looked down at his servant. He knelt down next to him and stroked his head gently.

"Gir..." Zim began softly, "Are...are you okay?" Gir shook his head and tried to sit up, but couldn't. Zim wrapped his arms around his tiny robot servant and lifted him up, putting him onto the bed. He then sat down next to him and continued to stroke his head.

"Listen, Gir..." Zim murmured, staring at his assistant with wide, compassionate eyes, "I...I'm really sorry if I did something wrong. I wish I could make it up to you somehow, but in my current condition, I guess it's pretty much impossible. Do you have any ideas?"

"...No," Gir responded, "but you coming in and cheering me up has helped me enough. Thanks, Master...for everything." He moved closer and rather suddenly caught Zim in a hug. "Serving you means everything to me, Master. You are everything..."

"You mean a lot to me, too," Zim told his servant, smiling, "If it weren't for you, I wouldn't even be here, would I?" He would've said more, but then abruptly broke into a fit of coughing. Gir looked up at his master in shock as he kept coughing, unable to stop.

When he finally did, Gir got a better look at his master. His green skin looked even paler than usual, and overall, he looked kind of sickly. "Master?" Gir asked quietly, "Are you okay, Master? You don't look so good." It was true - his master looked ill.

Zim coughed once more before facing Gir. "D-do you think so?" he asked weakly, "I d-do feel kind of...sick..." He suddenly started coughing again, which made Gir's eyes widen in horror. In an instant, he was holding his master's hand, hoping it would help him somehow.

"Maybe I should...see a doctor," Zim muttered between coughs, "I have n-no idea how I got sick, after all..." He shakily got to his feet, slipped off of the bed, and walked off into the main room. Gir followed him, unsure about what to say to that statement.

"I hope I won't be gone long," Zim managed to choke out before leaving. Gir watched him go, and once he had left, rushed into another room, feet making those adorable squeaking sounds yet again. He pulled some things out of a drawer and preheated the oven.

"I'll make muffins for Master when he returns," Gir told himself, feeling happier than he had felt for over an entire week.

?

Zim walked down the sidewalk, unsure about where the doctor's office was. He knew there was one somewhere nearby - Dib had told him about it once - but he wasn't exactly sure where he would find it. He felt like an idiot for not asking for directions first.

A few minutes later, after several coughing fits, the sky began to grow darker. Some instinct buried in the dark recesses of Zim's mind continuously told him to escape the oncoming downpour. It was hard not to listen to it, because it was gradually growing louder as he progressed.

Just as the rain started to fall, Zim found the office and raced toward it. The voice that was telling him to avoid the rain was screaming now, and he just wanted it to shut up. When he stood under the front canopy, the voice finally quieted down, and he got a chance to enjoy the rain.

The sound of rain hitting the sidewalk sounded incredibly relaxing. He would've fallen asleep standing up if he hadn't suddenly started coughing miserably. Someone who was walking through the rain gave Zim a look of pity as he continuously coughed into his hand.

Not wanting to cause any more disruptions, Zim hurried inside the building. It was peaceful and calm, with a few people sitting there and flipping through magazines. Someone was standing at the counter, but Zim felt too shy to talk to anyone at that moment.

Not sure about what else there was to do, Zim sat down and stared at the ceiling. There was a fan up there, continuously spinning around in the same circle every time. He was entranced by its movements for a little while, but then the nurse at the counter interrupted him.

"Sir?" she asked him, not sounding entirely serious about talking to someone who looked like a ten-year-old boy, "May I ask why you're here?" Zim looked up and noticed her, but was unsure about what to say at first. After another coughing fit, he finally spoke.

"Well, um..." Zim began between coughs, "I...don't really know what's wrong. I just suddenly started coughing...and I have no idea what's wrong." Without warning, he broke into another coughing fit. The nurse sighed and started filling out a form absentmindedly.

While waiting for someone to tell him the doctor was ready to see him, Zim slouched a bit and stared out of the nearest window. The rain was tapping against it in a gentle, soothing rhythm...almost like a lullaby. Zim lost his focus on the rest of the world and just watched the rain.

He was so relaxed then, sitting there and listening to the weather outside. He didn't even notice his eyes closing. Within minutes, Zim had descended into the comforting arms of sleep, with the rainfall peacefully continuing in his dreams.

Meanwhile, Dib had been watching a cartoon with Gaz, sitting on the couch and almost completely absorbed. A small part of his mind was still wandering around freely, and one of the things that came to his mind was the rain. Its calm, light rhythm was tapping on the rooftop.

The rain rather abruptly reminded Dib of Zim. He suddenly realized that if Zim stepped out into the rain, well...bad things would happen. He immediately got to his feet and sprang off of the couch. "Gaz!" he told his sister, "I'm going to Zim's, okay?"

"Whatever," Gaz answered blankly, "Shouldn't you wear a jacket or something?" Dib sighed - his sister was just being unhelpful again. Due to the way his hair stuck up in that scythe-like manner, he couldn't put a hood on and keep it on for over a minute before it slipped off.

Dib said nothing as he dashed out of his house and into the rain, instantly getting himself soaked. However, that didn't matter - the only thing that mattered was getting Zim out of the rain. He ran as fast as he possibly could to get to Zim's house in record time.

When he finally arrived, Dib restricted himself from breaking the door by knocking on it lightly. At first, nobody answered, but then someone did. Dib stepped back a little - he hadn't expected Gir to answer. The sweet smell of muffins filled the air as he opened the door.

"Hi!" Gir cried cheerfully, "Are you looking for Master?" Dib nodded, and Gir continued by saying, "He just left to go to the doctor's office - he has a cough or something. He told me he'd be back soon." Dib's eyes widened - if he didn't hurry, Zim would be in major trouble!

"Um, thanks!" Dib responded before taking off yet again. Gir watched him go, wondering why he was in such a hurry. Dib sprinted toward the doctor's office, almost tripping over a crack in the sidewalk, but narrowly avoiding it. He opened the front door and ran inside.

A few seconds before he had burst into the office, Zim had been woken up by the nurse, who told him, "Uh...whatever-your-name-is...the doctor will see you now." Zim shook his head a few times, sat up, and got to his feet, stumbling slightly with the usual clumsiness that came with just waking up.

"It's Zim," he explained, "but thank you." He was about to walk into the office when he was halted by another coughing fit. Once it had finally ended, he walked through the door that led to the office. The nurse closed the door behind him and returned to filling out forms.

Right after that had happened, Dib entered the office. "Zim!" he almost-shouted, shocking several of the people who were waiting for their appointments, "Zim! Where are you?" The nurse looked up, sighed when she noticed the drenched ten-year-old, and spoke up.

"You're looking for Zim?" she asked with a bored expression on her face, "He just entered the office." Deciding that she had had enough weirdness for today, she picked up the fashion magazine that had been lying on her desk and read through the main article with great interest.

Dib was in such a hurry that he didn't bother to thank her. He rushed into the room, suddenly finding himself in the actual office. Zim had been listening intently to the doctor's explanation about something, between fits of rampant coughing. Dib just stood there, still dripping wet.

"...D-dib?" Zim began, tilting his head slightly in confusion, "What are you doing in here? And why are you all wet?" He burst into another coughing fit then, which gave Dib time to dry his hand off by rapidly shaking it until droplets of water flew off and around the room.

"No time to explain," Dib muttered, grabbing Zim's hand and leading him out of the room, "I need to talk to you about something!" The doctor watched, slightly annoyed at the scythe-haired boy who had interrupted Zim's appointment. He sighed and decided to wait for their return.

"What's going on, Dib?" Zim asked, voice rising slightly, "Why did you just interrupt m-my...my..." He started coughing again, and almost collapsed. Dib looked around quickly - they were in the hallway that led back to the main room. He grabbed Zim's other hand and helped him stay standing.

"Zim," Dib murmured, "I hate to tell you this, but you can't go in there! I can't explain why...you just can't! Honestly!" He stood there for a moment, staring into Zim's gray eyes and hoping he would understand. However, the only thing he did was start coughing again.

When Zim finally stopped, his eyes were narrowed in slight confusion. "Why won't you tell me?" he asked, voice sounding shaky and weak, "Are you keeping a secret from me? Tell me _now._" Dib had almost forgotten how scary Zim could be when he got angry.

"Um..." Dib replied nervously, "You see...I, um...can't really tell you. I...I can't. I'm sorry, but I can't." Zim growled - a low, dark sound - and wrenched his hands free from Dib's grasp. Dib backed away nervously, suddenly frightened of Zim for the first time in what seemed like forever.

"Well, you know what?" Zim snarled, eyes practically shooting daggers straight at Dib's face, "Maybe we're just not friends anymore." He stormed back into the doctor's office, slamming the door behind him. Dib stood there, in total shock about what had just happened to him.

_Maybe we're just not friends anymore. _"Zim, wait-" Dib began, but was cut off when he heard the doctor talking. He was saying something about body temperature, fevers, and all sorts of things Dib already knew about. Zim had no idea what any of them meant.

Dib stared down at his feet and began to walk away. _Zim and I...aren't friends now, _he thought sadly, _It's all over. _Suddenly, his train of thought was interrupted by the doctor screaming. He was saying something about abnormality, and how Zim wasn't truly human.

"You, sir, need further observation!" the doctor shouted, "I'm sending you to the government's alien database!" Dib heard Zim screaming, but knew he was beyond rescuing now. He had just left Dib's life, and as far as he knew, the amnesiac alien wasn't coming back.

Zim was gone.


	6. Chapter 5: Coming to Save You

The rest of the night that Zim was sent to the government was spent in complete silence. For the rest of the day, Dib didn't say anything to anyone. For the past week or so, Zim had actually meant a lot to him, and now...he was gone. It was just too much to bear.

Dib had done only one thing that counted as communication, and that was leaving a note for Gir. It was still raining when he went out to deliver it, and when he did, he just slipped it under the door, knocked lightly, and took off running into the downpour.

It was one in the morning, and Dib still hadn't fallen asleep. Since he had taken his glasses off, the ceiling looked blurry to him, but it didn't really matter. He was staring up at it blankly and silently, too nervous about Zim to even think about sleeping.

After about fifteen minutes, Dib finally got kind of drowsy, and finally fell asleep. However, the nightmares he had to endure as soon as he closed his eyes were just too much. He couldn't wake up, and the nightmares kept coming back, like rivals hoping to battle again.

How many times would Dib have to watch Zim get cut apart? How many times would he hear the sickening _crunch _of bones snapping as he was hit by a car? How many times would Zim's death repeat? How many times would he see everyone he loved get destroyed?

Suddenly, right when Dib heard Gaz's scream as she plummeted into an endless abyss, someone started shaking his shoulder over and over again. At first, he thought it was a trick of the mind - he would turn around to see Zim bleeding to death...but it wasn't.

Dib finally escaped from the nightmares and opened his eyes...only to find two bright blue eyes staring straight at him. "Are you awake?" a high-pitched voice asked him, "Are you awake...? Hello?" Dib blinked in shock, sat up, and immediately put his glasses on to see what was going on.

Gir was sitting on his bed, looking wide-awake and kind of nervous. "I got your note," the little SIR robot told Dib, "Wh-where has Master gone?" For a moment, Dib had no idea what he was talking about due to his extreme drowsiness, but then it finally came to him.

"Your master...is in the government's alien database," Dib muttered sleepily, "Th-there's no hope in rescuing him, Gir...the government's database is too far away. We'll never rescue him. He's...he's gone." Gir recoiled slightly and felt tears brim in his large eyes.

Dib saw this, and realized he was being too much of a pessimist. "Well...maybe we have a chance," he began, looking around in the dark, "Is...is that why you came?" Gir blinked back his tears and nodded. Dib was about to comfort him, but then the little robot spoke up.

"I have a plan," Gir explained, "We can rescue Master if we work together. I already woke up your sister, and she's getting ready. We can fly to the alien place and rescue Master if we all try. Will you help me, Master's friend?...Please?" His blue eyes glowed in the darkness.

"I...I guess I'll help you," Dib murmured, not entirely sure about how this plan was going to work, "but how did you convince Gaz? She...she hates everyone." Gir only giggled as a response and darted out of Dib's room. The ten-year-old then got out of bed and decided to get dressed.

Within minutes, Dib was in the front room, standing in front of Gir and Gaz. "So how is this going to work, Gir?" he asked, staring at Gaz suspiciously and wondering if she had actually agreed to help the dysfunctional SIR robot. Gir looked around a bit and then spoke.

"Master has a ship that we can use," he answered, trying to prevent his voice from wavering, "Master's friend, you can drive. Master's friend's sister and I can sit in the back. Can you drive the ship?" Dib nodded, although he wasn't entirely sure that he could do it.

"His name is Dib, you know," Gaz muttered, "and mine is Gaz. Just so you know." Gir laughed cheerfully and rushed outside. Dib and Gaz followed him, not expecting it to be so cold. Dib shivered and pulled his coat around him in a tighter manner in order to warm up a bit.

They arrived at Zim's house rather quickly, avoiding the puddles that were spread on the sidewalk at random. Gir opened the door, and the three of them walked inside, feeling a little better due to how warm the house was. Gir rushed down the hallway and opened the passage to Zim's lab.

"The ship is down here!" he informed his partners excitedly. Within seconds, they were in the lab, and had found the ship they were going to use. Dib got in the front seat, trying to familiarize himself with the controls and hoping that Gir could drive half of the time.

"Ready, Dib?" Gir asked, having already gotten in the back with Gaz. Dib nodded and started everything up. He wasn't entirely sure about how everything worked, but had brought a map of the immediate vicinity, and could probably fly to the government's alien database rather well.

_We're coming to save you, Zim, _he thought, _Don't worry, because we're coming to save you._

?

It took the three of them a whole hour to reach Yew Nork, where the database was located. Unfortunately for Dib, Gir didn't take up driving at all. Instead, he and Gaz sat in the back and played with the playing cards Gir had brought with him for some odd reason.

The Irken ship touched down behind a few trees, which made it harder to see. _After all, _Dib thought, _if anyone sees this ship, we'll be in even more trouble than we're already in. _He then got out, immediately followed by Gir and Gaz. Gir was absentmindedly shuffling the deck of cards.

Normally, Dib wouldn't have been too intimidated by an alien database, but this one was definitely freaking him out. It was a huge building - not in height, but in length - and the whole place was silver, shimmering in the dark. Dib swallowed his fear of the building and approached the entrance.

Not many people were on guard at that hour, but there were still guards, and Dib had no idea about what to do to avoid them. There were two guards standing at the entrance, and they both held guns. Dib flinched as he thought of getting shot in the head, knowing he wouldn't like it much.

However, Gaz knew what to do. She got out a paper bag, stood near another side of the building, and popped it, causing both of the guards to dash away to look for the location of the sound. Gir opened the door, and the two of them rushed inside. Gaz followed them, seriously confusing the guards.

Inside, the building had an extremely high ceiling, and the walls were done in a shade of pure white. Dib couldn't believe how stupid the guards were not to follow them inside, but decided that most humans were just incredibly stupid. It was a depressing thought, but it would have to do.

Using his SIR robot techniques, Gir managed to shut off basically every other defense mechanism the alien database had, but that didn't make it safe to progress further. There were still guards, and they still had to be taken care of. Gir had no idea how to stop them.

"Let's just go," Gaz told the other two, "If we get caught, I'm pretty sure we can take care of them." Dib nodded, although he was still a bit nervous about the guns. He had been gravely injured before by Zim, but had always miraculously survived. He had a bad feeling about survival in this case.

As they walked down the hallway, feet making light clicking sounds on the floor - except for Gir's, which only squeaked - Dib suddenly realized something. _We have no idea where Zim even is. How are we supposed to find him if we have no idea where he is?_

He finally devised a plan, but he was a little nervous about its chances of success. "Gaz," Dib began quietly, "You and Gir need to keep watch and destroy any guards you see. I...I have to go find something out." He then dashed off, confusing both of his partners.

After running for quite a while, Dib accidentally set an alarm off. _Gir must have forgot to shut this one off, _he thought, _This wasn't part of the plan. _In an instant, two guards rushed up to him, right about to capture him and probably arrest him - a ten-year-old paranormal investigator, behind bars.

Had Gir taken a split-second longer to jump in and push Dib out of the way, both of them would've been in huge trouble. It wasn't really a push - it was more of a tackle - but it still bought them some more time to escape. Gir immediately turned on some sort of jet mechanism and rocketed into the air, still carrying Dib.

The two of them landed on a higher platform, somehow meeting Gaz up there. "You almost died, you know," Gaz told her brother, looking kind of bored, "Looks like you were trying to figure out where Zim would be." Dib nodded, feeling slightly guilty about Gaz figuring his plan out.

"Just shut up," she muttered, sitting down and apparently waiting for something. Gir silently shuffled his deck of cards, and Dib only stood there, nervous about what was about to happen. Just then, two guards walked by, lost in some random conversation about the database.

"I can't believe we might have robbers in here," one of them muttered angrily, "They're probably after that guy we got yesterday...Experiment number Z99, right?" The other guard nodded, looking just as angry as the first. Dib watched them, shocked that they would be so stupid as to say the experiment's code out loud.

"That's what we were looking for," Gaz whispered, waiting for them to walk away before jumping down, falling about thirty feet, and somehow landing safely. "I think you should wait for Gir to let you down if you don't want to die," she called, obviously referencing how clumsy Dib could be sometimes.

Dib took one step, but then ironically tripped and landed flat on his face. "Ow..." he moaned, "Let's...just go find Z99 already." Gir nodded and carried him back down to the ground. Within a few seconds, the three of them were searching for Experiment Z99.

Gaz looked up at a sign that hung a few feet above their heads. "Experiments Z75-Z00 are that way," she told Gir and Dib, pointing to the left. The three of them rushed down the left hallway, but none of the three, human or SIR robot, were prepared for what they saw.

Cages were all around them, several of them containing some of the strangest creatures Dib, Gaz, and Gir had ever seen. Dib watched in mixed awe and shock as what looked like some of the cafeteria food at Skool suddenly sprouted five eyes and looked around rapidly.

"Z99 should be that way," Gaz pointed out, looking over at a door at the end of the hall with a plaque on it that simply read "Z99." Dib flinched as he looked at the code on the door. As the three of them approached the door, Dib wondered what Zim would say when he saw him.

_Maybe he won't say anything - if I'm lucky, that is, _Dib thought, _or maybe he'll try to kill me. Just like he used to do. _Dib rather suddenly felt tears come to his eyes. He held them back, but knew he probably wouldn't be able to hold everything in for too long. The thoughts of his friend were stirring sadness up within him.

"Don't cry, Dib," Gir murmured, taking his hand, "It'll be okay. Besides, we'll get to see Master again, right?" Dib smiled weakly and nodded. Gaz opened the door, and all three of them stepped inside. At first, Dib was in pure shock, but then he realized what was going on.

Zim was floating in a strange chamber filled with purple liquid. His disguise had been removed, and his red eyes - which Dib hadn't seen in ages - were wide open and staring straight ahead. His antennae twitched occasionally, but they stood perfectly still when he noticed them.

"Dib," he hissed, voice coming from all around the room, "You decided to show up. You decided to laugh at me...to show everyone how you lied to me. I was never human...The other two need to leave. This conversation is just for the two of us."

"Y-yes, Master," Gir stuttered, understanding what was being said. He and Gaz silently walked out of the room's back exit, which would lock behind them and promptly take them back outside, where they could wait for Dib and Zim to return and fly them home.

"Zim," Dib began softly, "I...I'm sorry. We were enemies before you lost your memory...but we were getting along so well. I didn't want to spark another rivalry between us, Zim. I just wanted to be your friend...I'm sorry. I'm truly sorry...about messing with your mind."

"Messing with my mind?" Zim snarled, "That's an understatement. You _destroyed me, _Dib. We could've just made everything normal again, but you ruined it all. I'll never be your friend, Dib. Never again...no matter how many times you apologize. You only came to tell me more lies."

Dib felt the tears coming back, but he didn't stop them now. He just let them go freely, rolling down his cheeks in rivers. "Zim!" he cried sorrowfully, "We came to rescue you, Zim! Please, don't do this! You can hurt me...you can even _kill _me...just don't do this, Zim. Please..."

Zim's eyes narrowed. "You're just sucking up to me," he muttered darkly, "I don't believe you. You only brought Gir and Gaz along to trick me. I don't believe you, and I won't even listen to another one of your lies. If this is all you want to do, leave me alone."

"No!" Dib shouted, walking up to the chamber and pressing buttons rapidly, "Don't do this, Zim! You're my friend...not my enemy!" The chamber opened, and the liquid drained out of it, setting Zim free. Another alarm went off, and Dib could hear footsteps coming from outside.

"P-please, Zim..." Dib whispered, falling to his knees, "P-please come back with us." He couldn't talk anymore - he just buried his face in his hands and sobbed. Zim watched him cry, and for a moment, his expression softened. However, it grew cold a split-second later.

"I'm not coming back, Dib," Zim concluded, "I hate you. As a matter of fact, I detest you. And I can find my identity as the nonhuman Zim on my own." He stormed out of the building then, the emergency exit locking behind him as he darted away to a place where Dib would never find him.

Dib watched him go, crying sorrowfully, before just collapsing to the ground. "Z-Zim..." he stuttered almost-inaudibly, "I'm sorry...for everything..."


	7. Chapter 6: Who am I?

The guards were almost completely upon Dib by the time he escaped. Still sobbing about Zim, he managed to dash out of the emergency exit and run straight into the bushes, avoiding the guards as they rushed around randomly, looking for him to see if he had stolen anything.

Unfortunately for the sorrowful ten-year-old, the bush he had just jumped into was covered in thorns. Dib staggered out of the bush, bleeding slightly, but not yet registering the pain. A thin trail of blood trickled down one side of his face as he made his way toward the Irken ship he had taken to arrive.

Gaz and Gir were sitting in the back, playing cards. "Got any sevens?" Gir asked, high-pitched voice ringing throughout the ship. Dib watched them through the windshield, knowing that they were completely oblivious to the fact that Zim wasn't coming back with him.

"Go fish," Gaz muttered, staring at Dib through the windshield. Dib stared back, tears still rolling down his cheeks in rivers. Gaz recoiled slightly and returned to their game, with Gir not even noticing him. Dib shakily walked over to the entrance of the ship and stepped in.

"Where's Master?" Gir asked, "Didn't he come back with you?" Dib couldn't say anything just yet - the stinging pain of the thorn bush had just kicked in. He whimpered slightly and shook his head, collapsing onto the ship's metal floor and crying relentlessly.

Gir looked downcast. "Oh..." he murmured, as if it wasn't anything too serious, "Okay. Here, I'll drive." The tiny robot got to his feet and helped Dib into the back seat. In the back of his head, the ten-year-old wished he wasn't being such a burden, but was too sad to actually put his thoughts into words or actions.

As they drove, Dib saw the sun rising in the distance and felt more tears come to his eyes. _Why was I such an idiot? _he thought miserably, _I...I should've just told Zim he was an alien and left it at that. _After a little while, he finally closed his eyes and drifted into a very light sleep.

The nightmares he was put through during this period of time were even worse than the ones that he had endured when Zim was first sent to the government. He saw Zim snapping his neck, Gaz killing herself, Gir running away and never coming back...losing everything.

Gaz was looking the other way, but she could hear her brother muttering in his sleep. "Z-Zim...please...please come back..." he stuttered softly, twitching occasionally as though he was being attacked in his dreams. Gaz sighed and was about to return to staring out of the other window, but then her cell phone rang.

Dib was jolted awake by its overly loud ring. He had no idea why his sister even owned a cell phone - she had no use for it. Dib didn't have a cell phone, which was a bit of proof that whoever had gotten a cell phone for his sister preferred her over him.

The worst part of this was that Gaz just put her phone down next to her and let it ring. Dib flinched as the tune that played through the phone's speakers stung his ears. Gaz ignored him and let it continue to play. Eventually, the awful ringing stopped and it cut to a video message.

Professor Membrane's voice echoed throughout the ship. "Gaz?" he asked, "I just arrived home from the convention...Where are you, dearest? I've been looking for you, but you aren't around. I'll be here for quite some time, so please return, honey." The message ended abruptly after the last word that was spoken.

"Did you hear that?" Gaz asked, turning to face her brother. Dib, who had just started crying again, nodded silently. He had stopped bleeding, but the pain of the thorns piercing his skin still lingered. Gaz nodded and looked up at Gir, who was piloting the ship.

"That was our dad," she explained, "You need to take us home right away." Dib listened to her voice, not entirely used to it not being coated with bitter sarcasm. At first, it looked like Gir hadn't heard her, but then he turned around slightly, looking away from the road for a brief moment.

"I'm on it," he responded, sounding sad. Dib remembered that Gir knew Zim better than any of them, and was probably extremely depressed about losing his master yet again. The very thought of losing Zim multiple times made Dib wonder how Gir could possibly stand it.

The sun rose further, shining throughout the Irken ship and hurting Dib's eyes. He closed them and turned around to avoid the sun, falling asleep yet again only a few minutes later. The nightmares he had to go through were painful, but at least he was getting sleep.

A while later, the ship finally touched down behind Zim's house. However, Gir wasn't the best pilot, so it landed in an awkward position and started to cave in on top of him, Dib, and Gaz. If they hadn't left the ship as quickly as they did, the ceiling would've crashed down and probably killed them.

Gaz and Gir stood behind Zim's house, with Gir carrying Dib, and watched as the ship caved in. It was destroyed - there was no hope of fixing it without Zim and his knowledge of Irken machinery. Dib flinched as the ship collapsed with a loud crunching sound.

"...Dib?" Gir asked softly, "Wake up, Dib...please, wake up." Dib blinked and shakily got to his feet. He was tempted to fall to the ground and descend into sleep's comforting arms, but stayed up, although he was continuously yawning and staggering toward his house sleepily.

Gaz rang the doorbell as Gir darted back to Zim's house. Dib wondered how Gir was going to be able to handle everything that had happened that morning. However, he couldn't wonder any longer because, at that very moment, his father answered the door.

"Kids," he began nervously, "Where were you? It's five in the morning, and when I got home two hours ago, both of you were gone." Gaz said nothing at first, only stepping inside her house and waiting for Dib to join her. He followed her, finding it extremely difficult to stay awake.

"It doesn't matter if we were gone or not," Gaz muttered cryptically, "What matters is that we're home now." Professor Membrane watched as Gaz and Dib left to go to their rooms. When they had gone, he looked outside to see if anyone weird was traipsing around the house.

Gaz entered her room and locked her door behind her, glancing down at her pajamas, which she had left on her bed as she got dressed to leave to rescue Zim. Checking to make sure that the door was locked, she got back into her pajamas and decided to sleep until her alarm clock went off.

Dib didn't bother to do anything of the sort. As soon as he entered his room and closed the door behind him, he landed on his bed and fell asleep instantly. The nightmares about losing Zim plagued his sleep once more, but he ignored them - all he wanted to do was rest.

?

After getting what seemed like barely any sleep, Dib awoke to the sound of his alarm clock going off. He sighed, realizing that he had fallen asleep so suddenly that he hadn't prepared for Skool at all. He yawned, got to his feet, and abruptly remembered Zim.

Tears filled his eyes, but he ignored them and began getting ready. Everything seemed sort of distant and faded...ever since he, Gaz, and Gir had tried to rescue Zim, everything seemed like that. He blinked, trying to get rid of it, but it just wouldn't disappear.

When he finally made his way downstairs, Dib felt like falling asleep yet again. He still hadn't gotten enough sleep, and the fact that Zim was gone just made him feel worse. Gaz was sitting at the table already, eating cereal in a casual manner as though nothing had happened that morning.

"H-hi," Dib stuttered, holding back tears, "I...I'm just going to...h-head to Skool now." Gaz watched as Dib left his house with everything he needed for Skool. She then returned to her cereal, not really caring about what her brother did. Dib, on the other hand, was miserable.

He had to pass Zim's house to get to Skool, which just made it worse. He didn't see Gir, so he guessed the little robot was catching up on sleep. Dib wished he could join him in dreamland, but couldn't - after all, he had to go to Skool and be put through Zim's absence all day.

A few other students were walking behind him, engrossed in their usual conversation. Dib, practically knowing they would catch up to him eventually, held back his tears and tried his hardest not to cry in front of his fellow students. However, his tears about Zim refused to be held back.

"Hey, Dib," the tallest one, a boy of eleven, began, "What're you crying about now? Did Zim trip you?" Dib stared down at his feet, hoping they would just ignore him if he said nothing. However, these weren't the kind of people that would just leave you alone if you did that.

"I heard you and Zim were something of an..._item,_" one of the girls snarled, grinning nastily, "Maybe you two broke up!" The students all burst out laughing then, which just made Dib feel worse. He wanted to inform them that they weren't going out or anything, but felt too sad to say a single word.

After a while, Dib rushed away, trying to get to Skool as quickly as possible so that the other students would leave him alone. However, throughout the rest of the day, Dib and Zim's relationship became the primary gossip subject throughout almost every single classroom.

Class was a living nightmare for the ten-year-old boy. Not only was everyone laughing at him, but he kept looking up at the front of the room, still not used to Zim's absence. It was too difficult to convince himself that Zim wouldn't just come into the room and be counted late.

_Face it, _a pessimistic voice in Dib's head muttered, _Zim isn't coming back. Forget about him - he doesn't matter anymore. _Dib tried to follow the voice's instructions, but it was too hard to forget about his friend. Just trying made his head hurt, so he gave up after a few minutes.

Things weren't much better for Gir. He woke up late, engrossed in the sweet sound of birds chirping outside for a moment. However, when he remembered that he had no master to serve, tears immediately came back to his large, blue eyes. The pain was too much to bear.

Trying to hold back his tears, the little SIR robot stared out of one of the windows, not seeing any activity outside. The sidewalk looked empty, unlike the way it had been the day he had found Zim lying there, with blood pouring down his head. That scene was permanently burned into his head.

Gir wondered if Zim would ever come back. _He won't, _a tiny voice that inhabited the darkest corner of Gir's junk-part mind told him, _Your master doesn't want you anymore. _Gir fought back tears as he tried to tell himself that what the voice was saying wasn't true.

?

A somewhat-thin moon cast its beams down upon the city of Yew Nork in the brief interlude of time before it would become obscured by clouds. At this time of night, most of Yew Nork's citizens were going to bed. However, one inhabitant in particular had nowhere to go.

Zim wandered throughout the dark streets of the city, wishing he knew where he was. That whole day had been bad for him - he escaped from Dib, but then ended up on the streets of an unforgiving city. He was lost and alone, with no idea where he was supposed to venture next.

A small, quiet part of his mind was continuously telling him to find Dib, but he ignored it. _We're not friends anymore, _he thought with a hint of sadness, _and besides, he's probably already gone. It doesn't matter now...all that matters is finding my identity._

The streets seemed empty at this time of night, which made Zim slightly nervous as he wandered around. He had a bad feeling about how dark it was, and that feeling was on the right track, although he didn't yet know it. Occasionally, he stared up at the moon, wishing it had answers for him.

_Why did Dib lie to me? _Zim asked it, _Why am I stuck here now? Why didn't we both apologize and continue to be friends? And...why am I not human? _The moon didn't reply - it only hung there in the sky, being almost completely unhelpful other that giving him light.

However, at that moment, the moon began to get covered up with a layer of gray clouds. Zim watched, wondering what was going to happen. The answer to this question lurked somewhere in his mind, but he didn't bother to search for it - it didn't matter all that much.

A few minutes later, every star in the sky was covered with the ominous-looking clouds. As Zim was wandering around on the streets, he heard a strange dripping sound. It had begun to rain, and Zim found himself right in the middle of a rainstorm that could probably become quite heavy.

_Oh, well, _he thought, trying to cheer himself up, _It's just rain. It's...not serious or anything. I'll just walk in the rain. _He took a few steps, but then it began to rain all throughout Yew Nork. The tiny droplets soaked everything, landing on Zim's green skin like they did everywhere else.

At first, nothing happened, but then Zim heard a strange hissing sound. Rather suddenly, his skin began to burn. Not knowing what the best thing was to do, Zim did the one and only thing he could think to do - scream. He screamed as loud as he could while a raw, burning pain surged through him.

As the rainfall got more and more serious, Zim dropped to the ground, only able to scream in pain. The water landing on his skin hurt him as though it was acid. This continued for a certain period of time, but Zim had no idea how long he had been screaming.

When the rain finally became a light drizzle, Zim shakily got to his feet, still in extreme pain - perhaps the worst pain he had ever felt since the accident. He staggered up to a puddle and stared into it. His reflection had tears standing on the rims of its eyes to go along with the rainfall, and the pain was horribly strong.

"Who...am I?" Zim asked softly, cringing with the pain that shot through him on that dark night in Yew Nork.


	8. Chapter 7: Falling Apart

The skies were cloudy and gray - just like Dib's mood as he walked down the sidewalk. _This is the route Zim never took home from Skool, _he thought gloomily, _And this is the place where I tripped him. _He knew exactly where it was - there was a small stain, probably of Zim's blood.

Dib kept walking, acting as though he had a strong interest in his feet when he really just didn't want to face the rest of the world. He wanted to escape everything that surrounded him and find a place where nothing bad ever happened. However, Dib doubted that place really existed.

Miss Bitters had assigned homework that day, and she had told Dib to deliver Zim's homework to him, obviously aware of their former animosity and deliberately trying to make Dib miserable. Dib was approaching Zim's house at that very moment, but he didn't want to come any closer.

He knew that memories of Zim would just be all around him as soon as he stepped inside to drop everything off. He knew Gir would still be there, but not even Gir could cheer him up, especially because of how sad the little robot probably was at that very moment.

However, Dib knew he would have to do it anyway. He silently approached Zim's house and knocked on the door gently, just like he had done so very many times before. For a while, nobody answered, but then Gir answered, wearing his green dog costume.

"H-hi, Dib," Gir stuttered, tears brimming as soon as he saw Zim's former friend, "Wh-why are you here...? I mean...of course you can come in, but...d-did you come for any specific reason?" He held the door open a bit wider, and the ten-year-old entered the front room.

"My teacher told me to drop off this homework," Dib muttered, placing it on the floor next to the couch, "and...well, I don't really know anymore, to put it bluntly." Gir sat down on the couch and stared down at his tiny black paws. Dib sat down next to him, hoping the little robot wouldn't mind.

"A voice in my head keeps telling me Master isn't coming back," Gir admitted sadly, tears beginning to soak through his dog costume, "and...and I'm trying to convince myself that Master will come back, but...but I know he won't." He tried to stop crying, but it was impossible not to while thinking about his amnesiac master.

"It's okay, Gir," Dib murmured quietly, although he knew things weren't going to be okay, "It's okay. Maybe your master...well, Zim...maybe he'll come back." He smiled weakly for a brief moment, but it faded rather quickly when he remembered what Zim had said to him.

_I'm not coming back, Dib, _the Irken invader had snarled at him, _I hate you. As a matter of fact, I detest you. And I can find my identity as the nonhuman Zim on my own. _Dib felt so stupid for even thinking about Zim returning - he had told him he wasn't coming back, and he wouldn't...probably.

"He's not coming back, Dib," Gir muttered dejectedly, "Master isn't coming back." He paused for a moment, but then burst into tears, unable to contain the sorrow he felt. Dib watched him, unsure about what to say or do. After a while, he decided to just guess.

"It's alright, Gir," he told the little SIR, "I...I'll stay here with you." Gir looked up, eyes filled with tears, and rather suddenly wrapped his arms around Dib. Dib hugged him back, knowing the SIR robot obviously needed some comfort. However, as the two of them sat there, Dib felt tears come to his eyes as well.

"You miss him, too..." Gir whispered, "don't you? We...we both miss Master. And he's...he's not coming back to us." Dib nodded, feeling a rather sudden surge of grief as he remembered how stupid he had been, lying to Zim so they could stay friends.

_If I had just told him he wasn't human, _he thought sadly, _we could've gone back to being enemies, and...and Gir wouldn't be so sad. I wouldn't be so sad. None of this would've happened if I hadn't lied to Zim. _Dib burst into tears as he thought about the consequences of telling the truth.

"I shouldn't have lied to Zim about whether he was human or not," Dib confessed, sobbing quietly. Gir said nothing to this - it was hard for him to get angry at someone, and he had the feeling that it wasn't really Dib's fault that Zim hadn't come back with them.

For a while, the two of them just sat there, crying over losing Zim. Zim had been Dib's only friend, and Gir's master...he had meant so much to them. However, Dib abruptly realized that his father would be expecting him to get home...although he probably didn't care all that much.

"Hey, Gir?" Dib began, trying to stop crying for just a brief moment, "I...if I'm going to stay here, I need to call my dad and tell him I'll be staying here. I'll...I'll be right back, okay?" Gir nodded sadly, and Dib shakily got to his feet and left Zim's house.

There was a pay phone down the street, and Dib walked up to it, trying not to stagger out of depression. He held back his tears as he passed the houses around him. When he finally reached the pay phone, he inserted the quarter he had randomly found on the sidewalk and dialed his father's number.

The phone rang for a while, but there was no answer. Dib exhaled shakily - he should have expected this. He stood there, trying not to cry, and waited for his father's voicemail message to end. When it was finally over, he inhaled quietly and began.

"Dad, I'm going to be staying at Zim's house for a while," he muttered into the phone, "You see...Zim just needs some homework help, and there are some things we want to take care of, so...I...I guess I'll hang up now. See you." He hung up and then let himself sob.

Things were falling apart for both him and Gir. Dib ran back to Zim's house, still sobbing as though his whole family was dead. He realized that he had left the front door open, so he just opened it and stepped back inside. Gir had removed his dog costume and was now silently eating a muffin.

"Hi," he murmured, looking up and blinking back tears, "D-do you want a...a m-muffin? I...I made them...myself..." He picked up another muffin from the tray that was sitting next to him and handed it to the ten-year-old. Dib accepted it and sat down next to Gir.

"I hope I'm not...not causing you too much trouble," he told Gir, still crying, "I...I hope I'm not...interrupting anything." Gir shook his head gloomily and took another bite of the muffin he had been eating. The two of them were quiet then, not saying a single word to one another.

Dib held the blueberry muffin as though it was the last muffin on Earth. Like Gir, he was silent as he ate it, feeling like there wasn't much to be said. The television stood in front of them, its screen blank and empty. That was exactly how Dib felt - blank and empty.

A few minutes passed, and Gir rather suddenly got to his feet and walked out of the room, the squeaking sounds his feet made as he left sounding unusually sad. Dib watched him go, wondering what he was up to, but then his thoughts were interrupted.

A strange, high-pitched whistling noise filled the air. Dib nervously stood up, wondering what Gir was doing in the other room. For a brief moment, he wondered if seeing what Gir was up to would be considered spying, but his curiosity got the better of him.

As he walked down the hallway, the whistling gradually grew louder. Most of the doors in this hallway were wide open, but one of them in particular was tight shut. _If I recall correctly, _Dib thought, still confused about the peculiar noise, _that's Gir's room...isn't it?_

The ten-year-old boy opened the door, but he was in for a shock. Standing there was Gir, with steam shooting out of his head. The whistling was extremely loud, and he was in a strange stance that made him look like he was about to explode in Dib's face.

"Gir!" Dib screamed, rushing into the room, "What are you doing?" Gir flinched when he heard Dib's words and opened his blue eyes to see what was going on. Dib stepped closer, although he seemed to be a bit cautious and hesitant. "What are you doing, Gir?"

"Master isn't coming back!" Gir shouted over the loud whistling, "There's...there's nothing left for me to do but leave this world!" Dib's eyes widened in horror as he reached for the SIR robot's hand. Gir cringed at the touch of Zim's former friend, not expecting it at all.

"This is suicide, Gir!" Dib cried, "You don't want to die! Even if your master is...is gone...you still have a life to live, Gir!" As he said this, guilt began pulsing through him - the only thing he could think about was Zim. Zim's words still rang throughout his head, causing him even more pain.

When Dib looked up again, he didn't see Gir and his attempted self-destruct. Instead, he only saw Zim, staring straight at him with unblinking red eyes. He gasped and suddenly found himself unable to stay standing. He rather instantly collapsed to the ground.

Had Gir waited any longer to help Dib get back on his feet, he would've self-destructed and killed himself, most likely severely injuring Dib in the process. However, he didn't, and the little SIR robot grabbed Dib's other hand and attempted to help him get back up.

Unfortunately for Gir, the attempt to self-destruct had sapped too much of his energy, and he felt a surge of dizziness. Right as Dib stood up again, Gir fell over, twitching a few times before passing out. The little SIR robot's attempted suicide had ended in a failure.

"Are...are you alright, Gir?" Dib asked softly, holding Gir in his arms. Gir lay there, perfectly still, except for the faint sound of breathing. Dib took a moment to wonder why he even needed to breathe, but then decided it was probably because it was the human thing to do.

While still holding the dysfunctional robot, Dib stared out of the window and wondered what Zim was doing at that moment. He started crying again as he remembered what Zim had said to him back in Yew Nork, but tried desperately to be strong for Gir's sake.

Dib had never realized that Zim probably wasn't doing very well on his own. After all, even without amnesia, he would still have some trouble in a big city like Yew Nork. The place was huge, and its seedy underbelly was crawling with all sorts of people nobody wanted to mess with.

Even though he knew Zim hated him more than ever now, he still felt sorry for the Irken invader. _I hope you're doing well, Zim, _Dib thought, _I hope things are okay with you. Over here? Things aren't going very well without you, Zim. Everything is falling apart..._

?

Zim's only hope of finding help was to aimlessly wander around and try to find someone who would help him. _If only I still looked reasonably normal, _he thought sadly, _If I looked more like a human, maybe the others would stop running away in fright and actually help me out._

Pain still filled him as he patrolled the streets without any specific destination in mind. Remnants of last night's rainfall still lived in his mind, and he felt the burn of raindrops on his skin every time he thought of it. He thought of it a lot, too - the puddles that littered the streets at random certainly weren't helping him.

The sky was clear that night, and Zim had the feeling it wouldn't rain again. However, he still walked with an air of nervousness, and he occasionally flinched as he remembered the pain of water on his skin. He still had no idea why he had been hurt so badly by a simple rainfall.

_Maybe...maybe I have a water allergy or something, _he thought, trying to come to a solution and settling with that one. The moon was even thinner tonight, hanging in the dark sky like a soft toy on an infant's mobile. However, that wasn't the comparison Zim was thinking of...he wasn't thinking of one at all.

The area in front of the little invader had a strange, uneasy atmosphere to it that made him feel even more nervous than he already was. Something about the alleyways in front of him seemed...dangerous. Perhaps the oddest thing was how there were alleyways behind him, and yet they didn't have that same weird feel.

Zim began to feel scared as the sound of footsteps reached him...and they weren't his own. He stood perfectly still and could still hear them approaching. Worse, it sounded like it wasn't just one person. It sounded like five or six people were approaching him.

Suddenly, Zim cringed in fear - he heard a voice. "Hey!" someone called, "Hey, you! Green kid! What are you doing here?" Not five, not six, but _seven _people came out from one of the alleyways. They were all wearing torn-looking leather jackets, white muscle shirts, and jeans with all sorts of holes.

"This is our territory, kid," the first, apparently the leader, explained, "I won't question the fact that you don't even look human, but I'm afraid we'll just have to personally expel you from our land." Zim backed away slowly, but the gang of thugs was advancing on him.

"Um, I'm sorry for intruding," Zim responded nervously, "I'll...I'll just leave now." He tried to back away and hide in another alleyway, but one of the men immediately rushed forward and grabbed him from behind. Zim tried to break free, but the thug had an iron grip.

"That's not what we mean, kid," the leader muttered, coming closer with a calm expression on his face, "You can't just leave...you have to leave with a little parting gift from us." Zim twitched - he had the feeling this "parting gift" wasn't going to be good.

In but an instant, the group of thugs had surrounded him and were closing in. Zim had no idea how to escape, and even if he had an idea, one of the men still had him locked in his tight grasp, and it was impossible to break free. He closed his eyes, preparing for the worst.

The fight lasted only a few minutes, but it was just as bad as - perhaps even worse than - the rainfall from the night before. The continuous punches, kicks, and other physical attacks were really getting to him. However, he hadn't expected the leader to get a knife out.

"And now...something special from me," he murmured, grinning now as the knife's blade gleamed in the darkness, "Enjoy." He got closer - he was only a few inches away from Zim's face now - and drew a long, thin line with the knife. The line made its way all around the Irken invader's face.

Zim whimpered in pain and tried to hold back his tears. He wasn't going to cry, especially not now, and especially not after the water incident from the previous night. However, he couldn't help but scream as one quick slice of the knife cut deep into his left leg.

"Farewell!" the leader cried, tossing the little invader away from him. The thugs watched, laughing boisterously, as Zim crash-landed on the sidewalk. They were still laughing as Zim, with tears streaming down his cheeks and burning his skin, staggered to his feet and limped away, leaving a bloody trail behind him.


	9. Chapter 8: Getting Back Together

Dib woke up after a three-hour rest to find himself confronted with extreme back pain. He couldn't remember when he had fallen asleep, but he knew that sleeping on the floor never did him any good. His neck hurt as well, and he was in too much pain to move.

The ten-year-old boy had no idea what had awakened him at first. The room was pitch-dark, so it was impossible to even tell where he was. However, when he took a few moments to think about it, he realized he was still at Zim's house. _I must have somehow fallen asleep on the floor, _he thought.

Dib tried to recall what his dreams were like, but when he realized they were just the same old nightmares, he found himself blinking back tears yet again. He missed Zim terribly - it was obvious. The nightmares about Zim dying, alone and afraid in Yew Nork, made him feel horrible.

Suddenly, he found himself staring into a pair of eye-hurtingly bright eyes. "Hi, Dib," Gir began softly, "D-did I wake you?" Dib squeezed his eyes tight shut, not expecting such brightness all at once. Gir tilted his head to the side a bit, slightly confused about why Dib was in so much shock.

"Um, yeah," Dib muttered, still not opening his eyes, "Could you...back up a little?" Gir, immediately understanding what Dib was telling him, stepped backward and backed up right into a wall. He stumbled slightly, but then recovered his balance as Dib spoke up.

"Why did you wake me up?" he asked quietly, cautiously opening his eyes, "What time is it, anyway?" Gir looked around in a confused manner, but then found the clock hanging on the wall. His bright eyes illuminated every area he took a few moments to stare at.

"I think it's...midnight," the SIR robot responded, facing Dib again, "but...but that's not the point. I...I think maybe...if we work together...well...maybe we can...go back to the big city and find Master!" Dib blinked in shock, not expecting Gir to say something like that.

"F-find...Master?" the ten-year-old stuttered, "You want...to go back to Yew Nork, Gir?" Gir nodded and stepped closer, hoping he wouldn't hurt Dib's eyes at all. Dib shakily got to his feet and realized that he had been lying next to the couch, somehow sleeping on a hard floor.

"I miss Master so much..." Gir moaned almost-inaudibly, "Maybe we can rescue him. He's probably lost...and lonely, Dib. Can't we...can't we rescue him?" Tears began to brim in his large eyes as he spoke. Dib grabbed his hand and smiled in an attempt to cheer him up.

"It's okay, Gir," he told the SIR robot, "Don't cry. It's going to be okay, Gir." Gir sniffed and rather immediately wrapped his arms around Dib. Dib wondered just how dysfunctional Gir was - he could be so happy sometimes, but for the past few...(was it months?)...he had been so remarkably sad.

"So...so we can go?" Gir asked, blinking back tears as he hugged Dib, "We're going...to Yew Nork? We'll rescue Master? Is...is it okay with you, Dib?" Dib paused, wondering what the plan would be once he agreed. They'd have to do a lot of preparation, but it would be worth it to see Zim again...wouldn't it?

"Of course it is," Dib answered, "but there's just one thing...can I sleep for a few more hours? I'm going to need energy for this, you know..." His back still hurt, along with a sudden neck pain he hadn't noticed before. _Oh, well, _he thought, _It's not like it's going to last forever._

"Sure!" Gir cried, "Yay! We're going to save Master! I'm going to make muffins to celebrate!" He dashed out of the room like a rocket, leaving Dib in darkness once more. Dib smiled - Gir's extreme enthusiasm was enough to make anyone feel good.

However, sleep was starting to overcome him. Dib sat down on the couch and closed his eyes, only thinking happy thoughts about reuniting with Zim. He didn't care if the Irken invader hated him - he was just excited about being able to reunite with Zim, who, to him, was still his friend.

When sleep came a few minutes later, Dib's dreams were filled with scenes of him and Gir in Yew Nork, meeting up with Zim. For once, the usual nightmares were gone, replaced with blissful dreams of the three of them returning home...together.

...

Dib woke up seven hours later, feeling completely refreshed. He yawned and got back up on his feet, the earlier back and neck pain now completely gone. For once, he felt like he had gotten a good night's sleep, which had become almost impossible recently.

As soon as Dib stood up, Gir came running into the room. "Good morning, Dib!" he told the paranormal investigator cheerfully, "I saved you some muffins." Dib laughed softly and followed Gir into the kitchen. The sun was up, casting its gentle rays through the nearby window.

"So..." Gir began as he and Dib sat down at the table, "what should we do first?" Dib paused, having not considered this beforehand. Rather suddenly, he realized that he was supposed to be headed to Skool at that moment. His expression instantly became a nervous one.

"I can't believe I forgot about Skool," Dib muttered, "...Maybe I can catch up with Gaz and tell her to tell Miss Bitters that I'm sick and can't go!" He sprang to his feet and left Zim's house, scanning the sidewalk in an attempt to find his sister somewhere close by.

Gir followed Dib as he rushed around in a somewhat-crazy manner, trying to find Gaz. "Maybe she's that way," Gir murmured, pointing toward Skool. Dib only nodded and dashed away in that direction. Gir still followed him, not noticing that he wasn't in his disguise.

Finally, after a long sprint down the sidewalk, Dib finally caught up with Gaz. She was walking along rather casually, listening to something on her MP3 player. Dib tapped her on her shoulder, and she turned around, her expression becoming an angry stare when she noticed her brother.

"What do _you_ want?" Gaz spat, slapping Dib across his face and almost completely knocking his glasses off, "I'm trying to listen to...ugh, forget it." She turned the portable music device off, removed her earphones, and faced Dib with a look of pure rage.

"Gaz, I'm sorry," Dib muttered, touching the spot where he had been slapped and flinching from the pain, "I...I just...can you tell Miss Bitters that I'm sick and can't come to Skool?" Gaz stared at him for a few moments, but then responded in a cold, dark voice.

"Fine," she responded icily, "Just leave me alone." She stomped on Dib's foot before storming away, putting her earphones back in and getting back to listening to some death metal. Dib whimpered in pain, but was smiling when he turned around and faced Gir.

"Well, now that that's over with..." Dib began, smiling, "maybe we should head home. Since the last Irken ship we used was destroyed, maybe we can...build a new one or something." Gir nodded, and the two of them raced back to Zim's house, laughing as though they had just won the lottery.

"Want a muffin?" Gir asked as they headed back inside, "I mean, since you haven't eaten anything all morning, I figured..." Dib nodded, and Gir handed him a muffin. For a moment, the two of them just stood there, not sure about what their next step was in their plan to rescue Zim.

"...Hey, I just realized something!" Gir cried, "Maybe we could find some blueprints for a ship downstairs!" He skipped off, probably to find the entrance to Zim's underground laboratory. Dib followed him, still eating the muffin, and watched as Gir located the elevator that would take them to their destination.

"After you," Gir told Dib jokingly as Dib stepped inside. Gir followed him, pressed a button on the side of the wall, and was in for a quick burst of speed as the elevator shot straight down. Within seconds, both he and Dib had arrived in a room filled with all sorts of Irken technology.

"This place is amazing!" Dib commented, having just finished his muffin. He had actually been here a few times before, but he had never gotten a chance to just stand there and admire the machinery around him. _I wonder what Zim would say if I told him that..._

"Yeah!" Gir agreed, "I love it here! Master is so smart - he teaches me all sorts of things!" Dib smiled, remembering how Zim had once picked on Gir so much...but that had been before the...accident. His smile faded as he recalled the day he had set all of the current events in motion.

"Are you okay, Dib?" Gir asked, turning around and smiling. Dib nodded and returned to admiring the room around him. Meanwhile, Gir ran off and began searching the laboratory, trying to find some sort of blueprint that would help them out in building a ship.

"I think I found a blueprint!" Gir cried, pulling a piece of paper out of a drawer and waving it around, "Look! I think it's for a ship!" Dib walked over to where Gir was standing and took a quick look at the paper. Sure enough, it resembled a blueprint. He couldn't read the text, but it would have to do.

"I hope Master doesn't mind if we use some of this stuff..." Gir murmured, glancing around the room and trying to find some materials that would help them build a ship. Within minutes, both he and Dib were searching through the lab, trying to find some useful items.

An hour passed, and a large pile of pieces of scrap metal, wires, and other objects was growing in the middle of the room. "Hey, Gir..." Dib began, staring at the pile in awe and wonder, "Do you think we have enough stuff?" Gir took a quick look at the pile and nodded.

"Let's get to work!" the SIR robot told Dib optimistically, "We're going to rescue Master!" Both he and Dib spread all the blueprints they had found within the last hour on the floor and began working. It was very difficult, especially due to the fact that the text on every single one of the blueprints was unreadable.

Hours went by, and by then, Dib and Gir had constructed a basic skeleton of the ship. Even though Gir was dysfunctional, he was still very smart, and he had been a big help. "If only Dad could see me now." Dib remarked, gazing up at the unfinished project.

Somewhere not too far away, Skool had just ended. Gaz Membrane left the ominous-looking building and began her walk home. Soothing piano solos were playing through her earphones - she hated to admit it, but she actually had a fondness for piano music.

She walked along the pavement with only her shadow for company. She had no idea why, but a strange emotion was surging within her. She actually felt...sorry for Dib. _I'm probably sick or something, _she thought, _I'll never feel sorry for that idiot, no matter what he does._

Suddenly, Gaz was interrupted by the sound of...of...something strange. She couldn't place it, but it had a strange mechanical feel that caused her to think that someone was working on something nearby. She sighed quietly and resumed her journey home.

However, the odd noise just kept getting louder and louder. Gaz halted just as the noise became even louder than her music. She stopped the piano solo and glared up at the house where the noise was coming from - Zim's. Remembering how the door was always unlocked, she pushed it open and entered.

Gaz walked over to the elevator that she knew would take her to Zim's underground laboratory and stepped inside. The elevator went right down, taking her into Zim's lab. The first thing she noticed was the ship Dib and Gir were working on him, which made her scowl in disgust.

"I'm _trying _to listen to music, you know," Gaz snarled angrily, "What are you two idiots doing, anyway?" Dib just stared at his sister, unsure about what to say, but Gir ran right up to her and grinned cheerfully, eyes glowing like two beams from a lighthouse.

"We're building a ship so that we can rescue Master!" Gir cried happily, "Do you want to come with us, Gaz?" Dib watched, feeling sorry for the little SIR robot. He knew Gaz would reject his offer, probably physically hurting him in the process. He cringed, preparing for the worst.

However, Gaz did nothing of the sort. "...Okay," she muttered, smiling a little bit, "I'll help you out. Just let me call Dad so he knows where I am." She got out her cell phone and began dialing a number. Gir squealed with glee, and Dib only watched, unable to erase the shock on his face.

A few minutes later, the three of them were all working on the ship. Gir had no idea that Gaz was actually quite excellent at building things. She was wonderful at that sort of thing, and not even Dib knew that. At that moment, Dib was working on another part of the ship, lost in thought.

_Hi, Zim, _the ten-year-old thought happily, _How are things going for you? I hope you're doing fine. As for us, well...we're coming, Zim. We're coming back to Yew Nork, and we're going to take you back with us. You're coming home. We're getting back together, Zim._

...

The alleyway had been the only safe spot for the past few hours. It was so dark...Zim couldn't tell whether it was night or day. He lay there, hiding behind several trash cans, trying to stop the blood that was still flowing in a very thin, faint stream down his face.

There wasn't a single type of object that could stop the blood's flow, however. There was nothing Zim could do but let it flow down his face. He felt horrible - his whole body burned and froze, froze and burned. One of his legs was stuck in an odd position, making it difficult to walk.

However, the part of Zim that hurt most was his heart. He was in so much pain...and it was all his fault. Originally, he hadn't wanted to admit it, but now it was impossible not to. _I'm the one who can't remember anything, after all, _he thought, _This is all my fault._

More than anything, Zim wanted to apologize to Dib. He felt like such an idiot for being so mean to his friend. Now, he was stuck in a city he barely knew, with serious injuries. _If I hadn't been so mean, _Zim thought miserably, _none of this would have happened. Dib and I would still be friends._

Tears came to the Irken invader's crimson eyes. Earlier, he didn't want to cry - the tears would just burn his skin - but he couldn't stop himself now. Zim burst into tears and buried his face in his hands. _Dib, _he thought sorrowfully, _Oh, Dib...I'm sorry. I'm sorry...for everything I've done wrong._

_Even before I lost my memory, I probably did all sorts of bad things to you. I probably made life difficult for you. I ruined everything, Dib. I'm sorry. _As his own tears burned his fragile Irken skin, Zim feebly attempted to curl up into a small ball and rest in peace.


	10. Chapter 9: Search for a Friend

"I think we're finally ready," Gaz remarked, staring up at the ship - she had painted it a lovely shade of deep purple - and holding a large, fluffy pillow, "Are both of you guys entirely prepared for a journey to Yew Nork? We're not going back until we find your alien friend, after all."

"We have everything, Gaz...I think," Dib responded, also holding a pillow, "I guess I'll be the one driving, okay?" Gir, who was also holding a pillow, only nodded. Dib took one look back at Zim's house, feeling a smile come to his face as he remembered the many times Zim had invited him over.

_We're coming, Zim, _Dib thought happily, _and we can return to what we used to be like. We can return to being friends. _The ten-year-old boy climbed into the ship and sat in the front seat, hoping he was awake and alert enough to drive a ship. He didn't want this one to be ruined like the last one.

Gir, carrying the same pack of playing cards he had brought with him during their last trip to Yew Nork, got in as well, sitting in the back seat and resting his head on his pillow. Gaz entered as well, putting the pillow down next to her because she knew she wouldn't need it for the time being.

Gir's body practically radiated excitement. "We're going to save Master!" he sang cheerfully, "And everything will be okay!" He giggled childishly and watched as Dib started the ship's engine. Gaz watched as well, her expression stoic and unreadable.

"That's right," Dib responded, "Everything will be okay." He couldn't help but smirk as the ship's engine roared - completely under his command. Everything was working out perfectly. They were going to find Zim, and they could get back to being friends again.

"So," Gir began, legs dangling off of the edge of his seat, "what game do you want to play?" Dib found it hard to believe that Zim's SIR robot and his sister could possibly get along, but he supposed that they were getting along quite well. He pulled a lever and the ship shot up into the air.

Dib knew that the drive was going to take a while, but he, Gaz, and Gir had all taken naps after they had finished building the ship. Plus, they had all brought pillows in case they needed to rest for a while. The trio was completely prepared for the upcoming search.

"How about Hearts?" Gaz asked, "Do you know how to play?" Gir shook his head. "Okay, then," Gaz told him, "I'll teach you how." Dib took a deep breath and tried to focus on driving the ship. It was hard to pay attention, though - he kind of wanted to see Gir learn how to play Hearts.

As they cruised along, Dib wondered if Zim would be impressed with his airship-driving skills. He felt like he had improved, but he wasn't too sure - after all, he had helped to build this ship. He hadn't followed the blueprints exactly, so it wasn't a perfect Irken vehicle.

Dib heard Gir's laughter in the back of the ship as he learned how to play what was probably one of Gaz's favorite card games. _For once, _he thought rather suddenly, _Gaz isn't playing a video game. She's actually...engaging in some sort of activity with someone. That's just not like her._

While the ship sped farther and farther away from its starting point, Dib caught a quick glance of what was going on behind him. Gir was giggling happily and shuffling the deck, probably preparing to start an actual game. However, it was Gaz that caught his eye - she was _smiling._

_Wow, _Dib thought, kind of shocked, _I definitely didn't expect that. I don't think I've ever seen her smile before. _He couldn't help but laugh quietly as he thought about this. Things were going great, and at the rate they were going, they would arrive at their destination a little while after the sun rose over Yew Nork.

?

The ship touched down in almost the exact same spot as before. Dib felt a pang of sadness as he remembered what had happened when he had been there last. His eyes instinctively darted over to where the thorn bush he had jumped into stood. For a moment, he thought he saw blood dripping from one of the thorns.

Dib paused, making sure that the ship had completely shut down before unlocking the doors. He expected Gaz to immediately push her door open and slip out, but she didn't. Instead, she gently tapped Gir's shoulder in an attempt to get him to wake up.

Gir opened his bright blue eyes and noticed Gaz. "...Hello," he began softly, "So...we're here now?" Gaz smiled a bit and nodded. Dib opened his door and quietly jumped out of the ship, feet landing on the wet grass. He closed his door behind him, waiting for Gaz and Gir to get out.

Gaz exited the ship a little while later, carrying Gir on her shoulders. He looked only half-awake, which made Dib wonder if he had ever seen a tired Gir before. _Well, he can't have that youthful energy all the time, _he told himself, _Everyone has to rest once in a while._

Gir weakly lifted his head and noticed the government's alien research facility nearby, its chrome surface gleaming. "Why did we stop here?" he asked almost-inaudibly, clinging to Gaz as though his life depended on it, "Why would Master be here? Didn't he...didn't he leave here?"

Before Dib could say anything, Gaz answered the question. "Yes, he did," she responded, "but we think the soldiers might have some information about him. Come on, let's go." She walked away, carefully avoiding the thorn bush and stepping out into the parking lot.

Dib followed his sister, unsure about what was going to happen. Even though he had seen the building before, its appearance seemed rather sudden. He cringed, remembering Zim's words..._I'll never be your friend, Dib. Never again...no matter how many times you apologize._

He stared down at his feet, wondering if Zim would forgive him for everything he had done. Judging from what he had said, he probably wouldn't..._Perhaps this was all in vain, _Dib thought sadly. _Maybe Zim won't come back with us...or maybe we won't find him all..._

He sighed gloomily, still walking through the parking lot. An eerie silence had fallen over him as he recalled the previous events. Gir's attempted suicide would probably weave itself into his nightmares, and the things Zim had said to him still hung around him like cobwebs.

Dib closed his eyes for a brief moment, imagining Zim's words woven into spiderwebs. He stopped walking and imagined himself standing in a dark, cold attic, with spiderwebs hanging all around him. However, he was so distracted by this vision that he didn't notice the guards running up to Gaz and Gir.

"Hey!" one of them cried, "You're those kids who took off with Z99!" Dib looked up and gasped - they were carrying guns. One of them could get shot...and _die. _He immediately snapped back to reality then, rushing up to his sister and the SIR robot clinging to her head.

"Stop!" Dib screamed, "Don't hurt them! They didn't do anything!" Both of the guards immediately pointed their guns right at his apparently "abnormally large" head. Dib whimpered slightly and took a step back, tripping over a rock and collapsing onto the pavement.

"Yeah, of course," one of the guards muttered sarcastically, "Of course they didn't do anything. They totally didn't leave with our newest capture. Do you _want _our planet to be destroyed, kid? You probably worked with this girl, so I guess we'll just take you, too."

Dib sighed, silently cursing himself for his clumsiness. "That's what I'm trying to tell you," he told the guards flatly, "We didn't _leave _with...with Z99. We...just came to visit. We let him out because we thought we could capture him again, but...well, all this happened. Z99 isn't with us."

The guards seemed to believe Dib's lie, as their tightened muscles seemed to relax slightly. "Fine," one of them told the ten-year-old boy, "After all, you're just kids, so I guess we can't arrest you." Neither of the two guards seemed to notice that Gir wasn't even human.

"Thank you," Dib responded, although he certainly didn't feel like thanking the two people that had just scared him out of his wits, "We'll just be going now." He shakily got to his feet, motioning for Gaz to follow him. She walked behind him, not making a sound as they left the parking lot.

Dib was about to approach the ship, but stopped abruptly. Gaz halted right behind him at almost the exact same time, which was kind of creepy. "Maybe Zim went to the city," he thought aloud, "Do you think we should look there? After all, not many people should be awake at this time, so we can search unnoticed."

"Sure," Gaz replied, "We can't have people seeing Gir and questioning us...speaking of that, are you okay, Gir?" Gir had fallen asleep and was now barely holding onto Gaz. If Gaz hadn't gently lifted him up and into her arms, he probably would've fallen off of her head.

"Okay, then, we just lost a member of our team," Dib murmured quietly so he wouldn't wake Gir up, "Great. I guess we should get going before everyone else wakes up." He and Gaz made their way toward the streets of Yew Nork in complete silence, not entirely sure about what to say.

The city had an ominous feel to it in the early stages of the morning. Dib shivered slightly as he and Gaz walked along the sidewalk, looking up at the skyscrapers around them. Dib had never seen such wonderful pieces of architecture before, but now was not the time to marvel at buildings.

"Looks like we have a long way to go," Gaz commented softly, still carrying Gir, "We should probably start searching before we get noticed." Dib nodded, and the two of them began their search...their search for a friend. They were going to find Zim, no matter how long it took.

The streets of Yew Nork were surprisingly empty - even at this time, the city was usually much more lively and exciting. However, the only sign of life they saw was the occasional car cruising by. The driver would always look tired, with dark circles under their eyes.

"...Zim?" Dib called quietly, "Zim? Are you anywhere nearby?...It's me, Zim. It's Dib. I...I came back for you." Gaz said nothing, only watching as her brother called out to someone who probably wasn't anywhere nearby. She thought about this for a while, but then her mind drifted to other locations.

Gaz glanced down at Gir, who was sleeping peacefully. _I'm not sure what makes me like that little robot so much, _she thought, _Is there just something about him that makes me instantly act friendly toward him? It seems like I've been living on impulse a lot these days..._

_What's up with Dib, though? He and Zim were such good friends, and now...we're wandering throughout the streets of a city we hardly know. I'm carrying Zim's robot servant in my arms, and Dib is calling out to someone who he used to hate more than anything else._

"Gaz?" Dib asked softly, freeing his sister from her trance, "Are you okay?" Gaz looked up at her brother and shrugged silently. She wasn't sure what her definition of "okay" was any more. Things had really changed...and not for the better. She sighed sadly as she thought about this.

"I guess so," Gaz responded almost-inaudibly, "It's just...everything's so confusing now. I can barely understand it all." She stared down at the pavement below her, suddenly feeling strangely...small. She felt like she didn't really matter. She felt...unwanted.

At that very moment, Gir's large eyes opened. "...Gaz?" he asked quietly, "What's...what's going on? Where are we?" Gaz couldn't help but smile when she noticed that the little SIR robot was now awake. She stopped walking and gently put him down on the sidewalk, getting him back on his feet.

"You fell asleep during our confrontation with those guards," she explained calmly, "We're in Yew Nork, and we're searching for Zim." Dib turned around, having walked ahead of them, and noticed Gir. He smiled and waited for them to catch up with him before continuing on his search for Zim.

"Yay!" Gir cried happily, "We're going to find Master!" He danced ahead of Dib and Gaz, skipping along as though someone had just given him an entire refrigerator of chocolate...or tacos. He squealed cheerfully, occasionally hopping on one foot. Dib and Gaz watched, still smiling.

_Gir's back to his usual, positive self, _Dib thought, _and Gaz is actually smiling for once. We're going to find Zim. We can get back to being friends. We're going to patch everything up, and things will turn out okay. When was the last time I was this happy? When was the last time everything was working out fine?_

_I hope you forgive me, Zim. I know I've been an idiot, but I can't bear to see Gir cry anymore. He misses you, Zim. You don't even have to talk to me - as long as you stay with Gir, I'll be reasonably happy. I just hope...I just hope nothing stands in our way of finding you._

?

Zim slowly opened his ruby-red eyes and found himself staring up at the star-filled sky. He had the feeling that the sun would soon rise...which meant he would just get noticed again. People would stare...and yet nobody would help him. Nobody would even approach him.

"How can this world possibly be so cruel?" Zim whispered to himself, "How can humans just ignore someone who needs help? How can this race survive in a world of disease, accident, and war?" He found himself crying again, whimpering softly as his tears burned his pale green skin.

Thin streaks of dried blood ran down Zim's face. His Irken uniform had been torn in a few places, and his leg was bent in an odd way. Not only was he in pain, he also felt weak - as though someone had just sucked the energy out of him. He wondered what he could possibly do to end it all.

_Dib will probably forget about me, _Zim thought, _He has probably already moved on. He probably has better things to do with his life than look for his former friend. Maybe he's somewhere far away, enjoying himself...being happy. He probably found happiness...without me._

_I can't get out of here alone. I don't know the way, and even if I did, who would help a freak like me? After all, I'm...well, I don't even know what I am. All I know is that I'm not human...am I alien? Is that what they called me? Am I...extraterrestrial? An outsider?_

Zim moaned in pain and struggled to his feet. The world around him was almost completely lifeless. He remembered some things about which areas were safe to walk through and which areas weren't, but it didn't matter much. No matter what, he would still run into trouble somewhere along the way.

"What can I do?" Zim asked the sky, "How can I free myself from this world? Is there anything I can do...anything at all?" The sky didn't reply, although the stars within it twinkled merrily. Zim burst into tears, burying his face in his hands. He couldn't...he couldn't just...stay.

An idea came to him then. It seemed to be one of the only ways he could possibly set himself free. At first, he couldn't believe what had just come into his head, but then he realized it was the only way. Perhaps the only thing he could do was accept it.

Zim slowly staggered away from his hideout in the alley. He wandered away in the darkness, knowing there was only one thing he could do. There was only one path to follow, one way to go. He made his way toward the one place he swore he would return to again.

It was time to end it all.


	11. Chapter 10: Final Straw

Zim found himself still able to see through the darkness as he staggered toward his destination. The sun hadn't come up yet, and he was very thankful for that - he didn't want to be seen. The strange looks he got from the citizens of Yew Nork always depressed him, but he supposed it didn't really matter.

_After all, _he thought sadly, skin burning from crying, _I'm going to end it now. I'm polluting this world with my very existence. In a place where everyone can form at least a fragile sort of peace, I'm an outsider. The whole reason they give me strange looks is because I'm not one of their kind..._

Zim passed all sorts of buildings, each one pressed up against the others. He wasn't sure what they reminded him of, but he knew they had a place somewhere in his mind. His amnesiac mind...he couldn't remember anything about his past. It seemed like nothing compared to what he was facing now, though.

Several of these buildings were completely dark, with no lights on whatsoever. They reminded Zim of his own condition - his mind was dark, and the light of memory still hadn't turned on. He began to wonder if everyone had thoughts like this before the end came.

Loud, boisterous laughter reached Zim's crooked antennae, although it seemed very faint and far away. He resorted to staring at his feet, not wanting to look at any of the dark buildings as he grew closer to his destination. However, he found it hard to focus because one of his feet was dragging along behind him.

Zim turned his head slightly, not wanting to turn too far and cause himself more pain. Behind him was a thin trail of blood. Zim was amazed at how he hadn't bled to death yet, but he guessed that a few of his wounds had begun to heal. He wondered just how many of them would leave scars.

He wished he knew what he really was. As he wandered along the streets of Yew Nork, Zim remembered how Dib had lied to him and said he was human. _He was probably just trying to protect me, _the Irken invader thought miserably, _It was for my own safety. Dib was just trying to keep me safe..._

Zim choked back a sob. He missed Dib terribly...he wished he could've gotten a chance to talk to his only friend before it all ended. However, the end couldn't wait any longer - it would have to happen. Zim limped on, remembering the directions to his destination all too well.

Finally, he reached a run-down-looking restaurant. The eerie blue lights that glowed from within shone through the semi-broken glass windows, making the entire area seem vaguely ominous. Zim felt a chill run down his spine as he stared at the building in front of him.

The restaurant looked like it had been built...perhaps thirty years ago. The broken-looking sign above the building read simply, "One-Shot Diner." The amnesiac invader couldn't help but wonder where the name originated, but the voices coming from inside the building commanded his total attention.

Five of the men who had attacked Zim were sitting at one of the run-down tables within. The table was covered with half-empty glass bottles of a somewhat-orange liquid that could only be identified as beer. Some of this liquid had been spilled onto the table's surface as well.

Another one of the men - the self-proclaimed leader, perhaps - stood outside of the diner, leaning up against the brick wall and smoking a cigarette. Zim watched as the smoke swirled around his head, effectively shutting out the rest of the world and creating an odd form of inner peace.

Zim stood in the shadows, wondering who to talk to. The men in the diner appeared to be drunk, and very much so. However, the man out front seemed to be lost in his own world. Zim knew he would eventually have to decide, but he didn't want the conversation he would have with them to go the wrong way.

Zim limped forward just as the final member of the group strode around the corner of the building, gripping an empty glass bottle tightly in his right hand. He stopped in front of Zim and threw the bottle to the ground with force, shattering it into tiny shards that scattered across the ground for some hapless person to step on.

Zim took another step forward, which caused the man who had just broken the bottle to notice him. "Hey, you!" he began loudly, "It's the green kid again!" He leaned up against the side of the building, almost touching the man who was smoking the cigarette.

"You don't look like you've been doing so well," the man who had thrown the bottle continued, "Is it because you wandered into _our _territory? Do you want something from us, kid?" He stood up straight again, pushing the door that led to the One-Shot Diner wide open.

"Guys!" he called, "Hey, guys! The green kid is back for more!" Cacophonous laughter echoed from within the building as the five men who had up until recently been sitting at the table got to their feet and clumsily staggered outside. They appeared to be chatting boisterously amongst themselves.

The man leaning up against the wall put out his cigarette as the others left the diner. "Your eyes are just plain _creepy, _kid," he muttered, "They don't even look human. Do you have a vision problem, kid?" Zim shook his head silently, but before he could say anything, the man who had broken the bottle spoke up.

"Okay, guys," he told the rest of the group, giving them a crooked smile, "This is that creepy green kid from before. Seems as though he wants something from us. Lay it on me, greenie!" The rest of the group cheered in agreement, tossing a few empty glass bottles into the air.

"Um, sure," Zim murmured quietly, too anxious to speak any louder, "I...I've been in a lot of pain for the past few days. Originally, I had the feeling that I still had a chance of being rescued from this city, but I guess...there's no hope for me now. I guess it's all over."

"Yeah, so?" one of the men shouted, "That kind of thing happens all the time in a big city like Yew Nork. It's normal, kid. What did you expect? What do you want _us _to do about _your _problem?" The man who had been smoking the cigarette earlier stared at Zim coldly.

"I...I..." Zim stuttered nervously, "I...want you to...t-to...kill me."

?

Dib cast a quick glance down at the watch Gaz had slipped onto her wrist before they left - three AM. He tried to ignore the fact that he was beginning to feel tired, but it was pretty impossible to push out of his head. Eventually, he knew he would pass out from exhaustion.

Gir seemed to think the same thing. The SIR robot was lagging behind Dib and Gaz, bright blue eyes slightly duller than usual. Despite that, he was still smiling a bit, and it was obvious that he wasn't going to give in to sleep just yet. He was going to fight it with his remaining strength.

A few more cars were beginning to zoom past, and Dib began to wonder if anyone had noticed the blue-eyed robot that was following them. However, if the adults in Yew Nork were as apathetic about this sort of thing as the ones at home, none of them would've noticed anything out of the ordinary.

Gaz seemed to be wide-awake compared to Dib and Gir. She was focused on going straight ahead, apparently only caring about finding Zim. Dib couldn't help but wonder what sort of thoughts were flying through his eight-year-old sister's head at that very moment.

"How much of the city do you think we've covered?" Dib asked, breaking the silence that had fallen over them about fifteen minutes ago. Gaz took a short moment to stare up at the dark sky before responding to her brother's question in her usual dark voice.

"Judging from the scenery," she began, not bothering to make any eye contact with Dib whatsoever as she spoke to him, "we should probably be somewhere near the heart of Yew Nork." Dib nodded to show that he understood, wondering if Zim was anywhere nearby.

"Do you think Master could be here?" Gir asked, seemingly reading Dib's thoughts, "Would he be in the heart of this city?" The dysfunctional little robot blinked inquisitively at Gaz, waiting for a response that would hopefully be something along the lines of, "Yes."

"It depends on how well he's been doing," Gaz replied logically, "Considering the fact that he probably didn't have any money on him when the doctor reported him to the government, so unless he decided on a life of crime and thievery, he'll probably be in one of the alleys. They're coming up soon."

Dib looked off into the distance and, sure enough, noticed a long line of alleyways that seemed to go on forever. _Is Zim in one of them? _the paranormal investigator asked himself, _Is he okay? I never considered the fact that Zim could...could be...dead..._

Dib felt rather suddenly chilled as he thought of the word. _Dead. _Zim could be dead. If all they found was his body, would their mission be considered a failure? Dib paused for a moment to think about what the consequences would be if all they found was Zim's corpse.

_I suppose things would return to what they were like before I met Zim, _Dib thought, _but what about Gir? Would he be stuck living with us? _Dib's gaze snapped over to Gir, who was starting to pick up speed again as they progressed and had started to sing quietly to himself.

Rather abruptly, Dib experienced a peculiar vision. It was dark out, and rain was pouring down relentlessly. He was standing in front of a tombstone, holding a bouquet of beautiful red flowers. The tombstone was rather simple - only one word was inscribed on it. _ZIM._

"No!" Dib thought aloud, "I'm not going to let that happen! Zim isn't dead, and he isn't going to be! We're going to find him!" Gaz and Gir both stopped walking and stared at the ten-year-old boy with looks of confusion on their faces. Dib blinked and realized that he had said that out loud.

"It was nothing," he told Gaz and Gir quickly, "I was just...thinking about something, and I guess I accidentally said it out loud. Sorry, it's not important." Gaz shook her head silently and continued walking. Gir started skipping along ahead of them, and Dib resumed his usual pace.

A few minutes later, the team of three had walked past most of the alleyways. Gaz seemed to have lost interest in locating Zim - she was glancing around at anything that vaguely interested her. Gir was still singing to himself, not really paying attention to the search.

This is probably why Dib noticed the trail first. As soon as he saw the mysterious, thin trail of liquid, he rushed up to the alley it had originated from. The paranormal investigator knelt down next to it and ran a finger through it, wondering what sort of odd substance it could possibly be.

Suddenly, Dib's mind flashed back to the past. _Blood on the pavement, dripping down Zim's head. Casually sticking out his leg, knocking his worst opponent to the ground with a simple trip. _Dib's eyes widened as he realized what the substance on his finger was.

"Gaz?...Gir?" he asked nervously, "I...I don't think this is human blood..." Dib's two partners ran up to the trail, staring at it for a few brief moments. Gaz said nothing, seemingly entranced by the substance in front of her. However, when Gir spoke up, it hit Dib pretty hard.

"Master..." the little SIR robot almost-whispered, "Are...are you okay, Master?" Dib felt tears come to his eyes as he heard Gir's words, but he ignored them. Instead of crying, he shakily got to his feet and looked down at the trail. It led off into the distance...it was just what he needed.

"This is going to lead us to Zim!" Dib realized, trying to ignore his fear that Zim had bled to death, "Come on, let's go! Hurry!" Gir let out a little squeal of happiness and rushed off, following the trail as though his life depended on it. Dib did the same, along with Gaz, although she seemed slightly disinterested.

The three of them followed the trail until it came to a run-down restaurant, apparently called "One-Shot Diner." A group of seven men was standing outside, each one looking down at the same thing. The same green-skinned, ruby-eyed Irken invader. _Zim._

"Suicide, huh?" one of the men asked, "If that's what you want, then just stand as still as you can." Dib was overcome with horror as he watched the group of men surrounded Zim, covering his small body with punches, kicks, and slaps. He barely moved, standing as still as he possibly could while the men beat him up.

Gir broke the silence the three of them had experienced while watching Zim. "Master!" he screamed, sprinting up to the crowd of men with eyes aglow. One of the men turned around, not expecting a dysfunctional SIR robot to rush up to him and kick him right between his muscular legs.

The man howled in pain, instinctively sticking his leg out and kicking Gir straight in the chest, knocking him to the ground. Gaz dashed away from Dib and toward the crowd, fists raised, ready to fight the seven men who were hurting her brother's former worst enemy.

Zim's eyes snapped open when he heard Gir's voice. "Huh?" he began, "What was..." Before he could say anything else, one of the men punched him in the jaw. Zim, unable to stand up any longer on his injured leg, dropped to the ground with a yowl of pain.

Dib rather abruptly realized that he had to help Gaz and Gir if he was going to save Zim. They were both formidable fighters, but they were no match for the seven men who were trying to kill Zim. "I'M COMING, ZIM!" Dib yelled, speeding toward the gang with fury burning in his eyes.

Dib tried to push his way through the crowd, but the thugs had noticed him, and they were prepared to fight him. "Zim?" Dib shouted, "Zim? Where are you?" He wandered semi-blindly throughout the area, trying to locate the Irken invader among the gang members.

However, before he could do anything else, one of the men punched him in the chest. He yelped loudly and stumbled backward, coughing a bit of blood into his hand. He gasped quickly, having never seen his own blood staining his hand before. He tore his gaze away from his hand, trying desperately to focus on Zim.

Dib caught a glimpse of Zim's black antennae from somewhere in the chaos. He tried to approach, but someone pushed him back. He caught a quick glance of something out of the corner of his eye - it was Gir. He was using his laser eyes to shoot at the seven men they were fighting.

The brawl gradually diminished until there was barely anything left. Several of the men had already left - only three were still fighting. Gaz looked somewhat-injured, although she didn't seem to be hurt all that badly. Gir didn't look hurt either, although his face was slightly contorted in pain.

"I don't see what you're doing," one of the thugs muttered, "but if you wanted us to leave, you could've said so!" The remaining three men dashed off into the shadows, never to be seen again. Dib watched them go, but then whirled around. Lying on the ground was Invader Zim.

Zim looked like he was teetering on the fine line between life and death. His entire body was covered in his own blood, and his Irken uniform was torn in many places. His crimson eyes looked strangely glassy, and his left leg was twisted to the point where a few white streaks of bone were visible.

Zim's skull didn't look dented, but he appeared to be in a lot of pain. Dib stood there for a moment, unable to look away from the Irken invader in front of him. Finally, he knelt down in front of Zim's body, tears streaming down his cheeks as Zim's eyes focused on him.

"...Zim!" Dib cried, sobbing mercilessly, "Zim! I...I...I'm s-so so-" Zim cut him off, barely able to lift his hand and give Dib a gesture that told him to stop. Dib burst into tears again, trying to silence himself, but failing miserably. When he finally managed to quiet down, Zim spoke up.

"No, Dib," he murmured weakly, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry for...for doing so many things to hurt you, to cause you pain...I'm so sorry, Dib Membrane." Tears brimmed in the Irken invader's eyes. There was a faint hissing sound as the water came into contact with his delicate skin, but he ignored it.

Dib's body went rigid. He hadn't expected Zim to apologize. "Zim, stop," he almost-whispered, trying to sound gentle, "I'm the one who should be sorry, Zim. I caused all this to happen, and I...I'm so sorry. It's going to be okay now, Zim...it's going to be okay..."

Zim held out a hand. At first, Dib didn't notice it, but then he saw what was lying in Zim's open palm. It was battered-looking, covered in Zim's own Irken blood, but it was unmistakable to the brown eyes behind Dib's glasses. In Zim's hand was his human disguise.

"Zim..." Dib managed to choke out, "Oh, Zim..." Just then, Zim's eyes closed and his body relaxed. Was he dead? No, he couldn't be - his chest was still rising and falling, taking deep, shaky breaths. Dib watched his breathing for a while, but then Gir unsteadily walked up to him.

"Master..." Gir began softly, "Master...are you okay? Are you okay, Master?" Tears flowed down Gir's face in tiny rivers. "Master! Master isn't...isn't going to live! No, Master, no!" Gaz watched the little SIR robot cry, expression colder than a glacier.

Dib lifted Zim from his position on the ground and cradled him in his arms. Zim was surprisingly lightweight, but that was the last thing on Dib's mind. "Gaz, Gir," Dib whispered, "Prepare the ship. If...if we're going to save Zim's life, we need to head home now."

As the three of them rushed back to the Irken ship they had used to fly to Yew Nork, Dib put his head close to Zim's chest to listen for a heartbeat. There was one, but it was barely there. "Stay alive, Zim," he crooned softly, "You're going to live, Zim...things are going to be okay."


	12. Chapter 11: Deep Trouble

"Zim..." Dib began quietly, "Zim, I'm so glad we found you..." He was still carrying Zim, racing toward the alien research facility as quickly as he possibly could. However, the road seemed to go on forever...would they ever reach their ship? Could they ever go home?

"I know it may seem like nothing now, but things are going to be okay, Zim. We'll return home, and things can be like they used to be...right? We can be friends again, and..." He didn't know if Zim could even hear him - his antennae were perfectly still - but he had the feeling that he could, in some otherworldly way.

Gaz and Gir were already ahead of Dib, although he couldn't see them now. He supposed that they had reached the ship and were waiting for him. He sped up a little, wondering why Zim was so light. The Irken invader seemed to be much lighter than Dib had imagined he would be.

Fog began to creep in, and the sky seemed to grow even darker than before. Dib paid no attention to that, though - Zim was the only thing on his mind. He was determined to keep his amnesiac friend alive, no matter what the cost would be, and even if the sky was completely pitch-black.

That was when Dib spotted it. It was very far away, wrapped in a shroud of fog, and almost completely invisible, but he could still see it - the gleam of government's alien research facility's chrome walls. Seeing those walls could only mean one thing - he was getting close to his destination...to saving Zim...

"Almost there," he muttered, speaking to no one in particular, "We're almost there. Don't worry, we'll be home soon. Don't worry..." He exhaled shakily, wishing the journey to the ship wasn't so long. After all, Dib wasn't a very fast runner, and he couldn't run long distances very well.

Suddenly, the world went silent. Dib came to a stop, wondering why the noise he had been able to hear for the past few minutes or so was now gone. He blinked, realizing that he could hear the sounds of cars speeding by, but the lone sound he had been paying so much attention to was now inaudible.

It took Dib a few moments to realize what had stopped. He immediately grabbed Zim's wrist and squeezed it, trying to check for a pulse...but there was none. Zim's heart had stopped...it was no longer beating. He was dead. The Irken invader Dib had tried so desperately to save was now dead.

Dib dropped to his knees and screamed. Zim, his former worst enemy and now his only friend, was dead. All of this - the rescue, the fight...- had been done for nothing. Dib's scream echoed throughout Yew Nork, jolting people out of their peaceful sleep. It was all over...there was no point in living any longer.

Zim's body was cold and lifeless, still covered in blood. Dib couldn't bear it anymore - he burst into tears. "Zim!" he shouted, "Zim! _NO! _You can't be dead, Zim! You can't be...gone! Please, Zim...please, wake up...oh, please. You...you can't be dead, Zim..."

Dib rose slightly, feeling someone tap him on his shoulder. He blinked, wondering what was going on. He staggered to his feet, still carrying Zim's corpse, and turned around, but nobody stood behind him. He was alone. He collapsed, screaming in pain about Zim's death, and then...

"...Dib?" a voice called softly, "Dib? Are you awake, Dib?...Hello?" Dib slowly opened his eyes and found himself in a completely different location. He was sitting in the left seat in the middle of the ship he, Gaz, and Gir had built, face pressed against the wall. He had no idea how he had gotten there.

"Why...why am I here?" Dib asked quietly, turning around a bit to see what was around him. Sitting next to him was Gir, who had been tapping him on his shoulder for the past few moments. Gir's bright eyes looked worried, but they weren't filled with sadness. What had happened to Zim? Wasn't he...dead?

"You were having a nightmare, Dib," Gir explained gently, "Gaz saw you collapse...and she told me to carry Master. We made it to the ship as fast as we could, but...you were screaming in your sleep, Dib. It was really scary. I thought...I thought you were in pain..."

"We're almost there," Gaz told Dib and Gir from her position in the front seat, "Stay calm. This may be a bit of a rough landing." Apparently, Gaz had been piloting the ship the whole time. For a moment, Dib wondered where she had gotten that ability, but then his gaze flickered over to Gir.

The dysfunctional SIR robot had reconstructed about a third of himself into a makeshift life-support system. His right hand was a mask, covering Zim's mouth, and part of his body had become a respirator, helping the Irken invader breathe. Dib stared, in shock, at the body of his friend.

Zim still looked badly injured, but his chest was rising and falling in a more stable manner. "How...h-how did you do this, Gir?" Dib stuttered, completely amazed, "I've never seen...anything l-like it before." Gir smiled slightly, blue eyes glowing brightly as he responded to Dib's question.

"I used a few spare parts from the ship," Gir admitted, "and I put myself back together. At least Master is okay, right?" Dib nodded silently and stared out of the nearest window. Rays of sunshine shot across the sky - the day was beginning. Zim had been saved, and the day was beginning.

?

"Grab a landing buddy, everyone," Gaz muttered, swerving around above the city, "We're about to land. If you aren't currently conscious, don't worry - your life-support system should double as a landing buddy." Dib couldn't help but laugh quietly at his sister's little joke.

Dib couldn't laugh for very long - a cough escaped him as Gir immediately caught him in a tight hug. "Landing buddy!" he cried, "Landing buddy!" He was only squeezing the paranormal investigator with one arm, but it was still painful. For a little SIR robot, he had quite the tight grip.

Gir's other arm had lengthened and wrapped around Zim's frail body, making sure he was secure during the ship's landing. "Um, Gir..." Dib managed to choke out, "You're, um...crushing me." Gir's eyes widened slightly as he relaxed his grip on Dib, focusing more on Zim.

Gaz let the ship land behind Zim's house, just like Gir had done during their last trip. However, unlike Gir, she didn't damage the ship to the point of the ceiling collapsing on itself. In fact, her landing was a bit graceful, with the ship's landing gear gently touching the wet grass.

"Okay, you can get out now," Gaz stated, "Be careful getting out." Dib obeyed, cautiously slipping out of the vehicle and finding himself standing in the grass. Gir followed, although he was a bit hesitant. The dysfunctional SIR robot was making sure that Zim was okay before carrying him out.

Gaz jumped out of the front seat, closing the door behind her. "Well, we're finally home," she began, stretching a bit, "Now what?" Dib paused - he hadn't thought about that before. What were they going to do? They couldn't just go back to Skool and resume their usual state of normalcy.

"Maybe we should focus on making Master all better first," Gir pointed out, "He got hurt pretty bad, didn't he?" Dib nodded silently, unable to think of a proper plan to heal Zim. His mind was drawing a complete blank, and a small part of it was unhelpfully telling him to go get some sleep.

"We can't just take him to the hospital, though," Gaz responded, staring off into the distance pensively, "Most of the people here are pretty stupid, but they'll probably notice how inhuman Zim is. However, we can't just leave him here to die. We can't let this entire mission be a failure."

Dib was at a loss for words. He couldn't think of a solution - especially when his only friend was lying in Gir's arms right now and probably on the verge of death. They couldn't heal him themselves - none of them knew anything about medical studies, surgery, or anything like that.

"Is there anything we can do?" Gir asked softly, "Or is Master...doomed? Is Master...doom doom, doom doom doom, doom doom doom..." Dib blinked back tears as Gir began a quiet, somber-sounding rendition of the Doom Song. Gaz was looking away, so he couldn't see whether it depressed her or not.

Suddenly, Dib's eyes averted toward the human disguise still lying in Zim's hand. Although it definitely wasn't in top condition and was still stained with Irken blood, it was a disguise. Disguises were used to camouflage against the rest of the world...weren't they?

Dib took a few steps closer to Zim. "I have an idea," he told Gir and Gaz, "Get Zim's human disguise on him." Although she looked slightly confused, Gaz obeyed her older brother's command. Within the span of about fifteen seconds, Zim could've fooled almost everyone in the entire city.

"Okay, then," Dib continued, glancing at his amnesiac friend, "Now follow me. I think I know a way to heal Zim." He ran off, trying not to go too fast. After all, Gir was still carrying Zim, and he couldn't run as fast while carrying someone who was approximately twice as heavy as he was.

Dib's destination wasn't too horribly far away, but it would take some time to get to with Gir's lack of speed. Gaz followed at about Dib's speed, but she seemed to be lingering a bit - possibly in order to stay near Gir so he wouldn't end up wandering off in the wrong direction.

"Where are we going, Dib?" the dysfunctional SIR robot asked, now about fifteen feet behind the ten-year-old paranormal investigator, "We can't just go to the hospital, can we...?" Dib shook his head as he ran, hoping Gir would notice and that he wouldn't have to make himself any clearer.

"We're not going to the hospital," Dib responded, "We're going somewhere else." Gir tilted his head slightly in confusion, but followed Dib anyway - there was no point in going off on his own. Gaz was a bit confused, but she certainly didn't show it, keeping a straight face as she followed her brother.

The sun was rising by the time Dib arrived at his destination. The building stood in front of him, beginning to cast a shadow as the sun rose, but Dib wasn't frightened. The building loomed over him darkly, but Dib wasn't scared. Standing in front of him was his own house.

"Why are we here?" Gaz asked, "I didn't think Dad had any medical abilities." She stood next to Dib, staring up at the building with a dark look in her eyes. It was rather obvious that she wasn't a big fan of the house she lived in. Dib paused, unsure about what to say to Gaz's question.

Just then, Gir ran up to Dib and Gaz, still carrying Zim. "Is this where we can save Master, Dib?" Gir asked, large blue eyes looking right at the paranormal investigator inquisitively, "Is Master going to be all better?" Dib, who couldn't help but smile due to Gir's immature way of putting things, nodded coolly.

"He's going to be okay, Gir," Dib answered, "I just have to explain a few things to my dad." He walked up to the front door and knocked a few times, hoping his father was still home. Luckily for the ten-year-old, his father was still there, and he answered the door about seven seconds later.

"...Son?" Professor Membrane asked, apparently forgetting Dib's name yet again, "What are you doing out there? Shouldn't you be asleep?" Dib rather suddenly felt paralyzed, not sure about what to say to his father about Zim. Gaz sighed quietly and pushed Dib out of the way.

"Dad," she began, "While Dib was at Zim's house, they got into a bit of an accident, and Zim got beaten up by a crowd of thugs. Gir - he's a new friend of mine, Dad - and I got to them just in time, and I was wondering if you could be the one to take care of him...considering the fact that he's so badly injured."

Professor Membrane stared down at Zim's body. "Is this your friend, Dib?" he asked, not looking away from the Irken invader. Dib nodded silently. "All right, then...I suppose I could...but does he need any surgery?" Gaz didn't respond, leaving Dib to answer the question.

"I...I think so," the ten-year-old replied hesitantly, "I mean, he _did _break his leg, and I'm not entirely sure about just how injured he is. Just...just keep in mind that he's from a foreign land, so he may be a little..._different _compared to someone from this city."

Dib's father paused for a moment, but then knelt down and gently lifted Zim into his arms. "I'll see what I can do, kids," he told Dib, Gaz, and Gir, "but you should probably get some sleep. You have Skool today, don't you? Shouldn't you get some rest before it starts?"

"Thank you for helping Zim, Dad," Dib responded, "but do we have to go to Skool? I...I think I have a headache, Dad." Lying to Zim was bad enough for Dib, but lying to his father really stung. However, this was for Zim's own good, wasn't it? Wasn't he going to get better?

"...Fine," Professor Membrane answered, "Will you be staying at Zim's house in the meantime?" Dib wasn't sure how to respond to that, but Gaz was. At first, she nodded, but then she decided to elaborate a bit more by giving her father an audible response.

"Yeah," Gaz replied, unfazed by lying to her own father, "The house is a bit of a mess, and Gir thought that we could possibly clean it up while Dib recovered from his headache." Dib's eyes widened slightly - Gaz was incredibly skilled at lying. It seemed like quite the useful skill to have.

"Okay, then," Professor Membrane stated, "You kids have fun." He went back inside, closing the door behind him. As soon as he was gone, Dib let out a huge sigh of relief. Zim was okay, and they were going back to the Irken invader's house and skipping Skool.

"We should probably go back to Zim's house before anyone notices us, right?" the paranormal investigator asked his sister. Gaz nodded, and the three of them walked away, toward Zim's house. Gir was back to his usual speed, and was walking right next to them.

"Hey, Gaz?" the dysfunctional SIR robot asked in his usual high-pitched voice, "Am I really your friend?" Gaz sighed, not entirely sure how to respond to that question at first. When she did respond, she sounded slightly annoyed, but Gir didn't seem to notice that.

"Sure," the eight-year-old girl muttered, "You're my friend." Gir let out a squeal of delight and hugged Gaz before resuming the walk. Dib wasn't sure, but he thought he saw Gaz blush slightly as Gir hugged her. How could that be true? Gaz is, well, _Gaz_ - she doesn't blush.

Dib, Gaz, and Gir arrived at Zim's house a few minutes later. Dib was starting to feel pretty ecstatic - after all, his dad was healing Zim, Gir was back to being his usual positive self, and even Gaz seemed to be a bit cheerful. _Things can't get much better, _he thought happily.

Gir walked ahead of Dib and Gaz, pushing the door open and leading them both inside. The house seemed slightly drafty, and it was a bit cold. Dib pulled his trenchcoat tighter around his shoulders, wishing he could warm up just a little bit more. Gir was shivering a little.

A few minutes later, things had returned to a vague sense of normalcy. Gaz and Gir were watching the news, although it was a bit strange - Gaz didn't normally enjoy watching the news. Dib was standing nearby, drinking from a glass of water that had unexplainably been in Zim's house.

For a while, it seemed like Gaz and Gir were just watching commercials. However, they appeared to be quite mesmerized by the images in front of them. Dib spent a moment wondering if their minds had melted, but his train of thought was interrupted when a breaking news bulletin appeared on the screen.

"This just in," the newscaster began, "A rather peculiar event has occurred in the large city of Yew Nork. Alien subject Z99 of the government's alien database escaped a while ago, although it wasn't brought to our attention until very recently, when Z99's apparent friends who had helped him escaped returned."

"Apparently, the guards were very lethargic about it, because the so-called 'friends' - a couple of kids and a robot - escaped without injury." A picture of a ten-year-old boy, an eight-year-old girl, and a dysfunctional SIR robot appeared on the screen. It appeared to have been taken during their trip to Yew Nork.

"Here is a picture of Subject Z99 wearing his disguise." An image of Zim in his human disguise faded in, replacing the previous image. "Here is Z99 without it." The Irken invader known as Zim showed up on the screen, looking panic-stricken. "If you or someone you know sees any of the humans, robots, and aliens that just appeared in these pictures, please call either the news station, the police station, or the government's alien database immediately."

Dib gasped in horror and dropped the glass he was holding, shattering it. Gir nearly fainted. Gaz, however, only sighed and gritted her teeth, staring at the newscaster on the screen with a look of hatred in her eyes. "Oh, boy," she muttered darkly, "We're in real trouble now."


	13. Chapter 12: Never Forget

"...Hello?" Gaz began quietly, pushing the front door open and entering her own house, "Dad? Are you in here?" The lights were off, shrouding the room in a curtain of darkness. Gaz stepped inside, flipping a lightswitch on and bathing the room in a dull form of light.

Gir followed her inside, bright blue eyes glowing in the slight darkness. He had recovered from his initial shock at seeing the news bulletin about their journeys to Yew Nork, but he was still a bit jittery. He twitched occasionally, as though he was still too anxious to focus completely on their mission.

Dib was behind Gaz and Gir, looking more nervous than both of them put together. They had left Zim's house to go check up on the amnesiac invader and see if he was doing okay, but only after Dib had swept up the glass shards from the floor. In retrospect, he could safely say that breaking the glass wasn't a very good idea.

"Is anyone here? Hello?" Gir called in a slightly quieter voice, "Anyone? Hello?" The room was filled with silence - nobody was around. Gir began to shiver with fear, wondering where Gaz's father and his master had gone. However, he was interrupted when Gaz put her hand on his shoulder.

"He's probably in his lab, Gir," she told him coolly, "Don't freak out." Gir exhaled deeply in an effort to calm himself down. Dib watched them, wishing he could effortlessly relax like that. Instead, he was very alert, and a bit paranoid about the events to come.

Dib couldn't help but recall what the guards from the alien research facility had said. _"Fine. After all, you're just kids, so I guess we can't arrest you." _Dib had a bad feeling that they wouldn't get arrested, but they would most certainly end up in a juvenile detention center.

Fear shot through Dib's body at the mention of these words. He didn't want to be stuck in a dark, gloomy place, hundreds of miles away from everyone he loved, in a land where he didn't belong. He didn't want to see Zim get dragged back to the alien research facility, alone and afraid.

He didn't want to let Gaz and Gir down. Dib couldn't help but feel worse as he thought of what would happen if Gaz was sent to the juvenile detention center along with him. And what about Gir? Wouldn't he become scrap metal or something? Dib cringed - he found it impossible to think of Gir like that. It was just too hard to imagine the sweet young SIR robot get destroyed...and become nothing but extra metal to use for some other purpose.

Dib was awoken from his trance by Gaz, who was shaking his shoulder. "Dib?" she asked with a hint of compassion in her voice, "Are you okay?" Dib blinked in shock - he had never heard his sister speak in that tone before - and nodded silently. His legs felt unusually numb.

"All right, then," Gaz muttered, her usual dark manner of speaking beginning to return, "Dad's lab is this way." She walked off, with Dib and Gir following close behind. Within a few moments, they were standing at the top of the stairs that would hopefully take them to Professor Membrane's headquarters.

The stairs weren't very long, but Dib still felt like he was going to trip over them. He cautiously skipped over the one step that creaked - he had skipped over that step ever since he was little. Gir, noticing what he was doing, jumped right over the step. Gaz ignored them both.

The lab had the same dark, eerie lighting the first floor had. A television was on in the corner, currently playing a commercial on a low volume setting. Professor Membrane was standing in front of a table, back turned. However, neither of these things were what caused Dib's eyes to widen in shock.

Zim was lying on what appeared to be a table of some sort, just a few feet away from Professor Membrane. The color had returned to his cheeks, and his chest was rising and falling in a much calmer manner. Unlike the somewhat-pained look he had endured previously, he now looked peaceful. His body was cleansed of blood, and even his Irken uniform seemed to be repaired. His left leg was now lying in a cast, but other than that, he looked fine - he was just sleeping.

Gaz took one more step forward, and Professor Membrane turned around. "Oh, hello, kids," he began optimistically, "Your friend's all better now." He gestured slightly toward Zim, which caused Gaz and Gir to look in the same direction. Although Gaz appeared to have no reaction, Gir was a bit different.

"Master!" he squealed ecstatically, rushing up to Zim, "Master! You're okay!" Tears of joy filled the small SIR robot's eyes as he stared up at Professor Membrane. "Thank you!" he cried, tears running down his face, "Thank you so much! Thank you for saving my master!"

"It was nothing," Professor Membrane responded, laughing and obviously a bit embarrassed, "It was actually very easy...we have so many machines that can do things for us now." Gir squealed again, hugging the professor's leg before returning to Zim's side, unable to stop crying.

"Well, it _is _the future, after all." Gaz muttered, seemingly to herself. She gazed off into the distance, as though something else was on her mind. However, she was interrupted from her trance by the feeling of someone gently tapping her shoulder. She turned around and found herself staring into the eyes of Dib Membrane.

"...Thanks, Gaz," he murmured so no one else could hear, "You...you really helped us out. I...I owe you big-time for this, don't I?" He smiled a bit, and, no matter how twisted and unreal it sounded, Gaz smiled back. It was completely unlike her to smile _at all, _and now...

"You don't owe me anything," Gaz replied softly, "but next time you annoy me, watch out." Dib smirked, turning to face Zim once more. He wondered when his friend would wake up. He supposed that Zim needed some rest after all he had been through, but he was still looking forward to Zim's awakening.

Just then, the five inhabitants of the room - three humans, one alien, and one robot - were interrupted by a strange sound coming from outside. It sounded like countless people screaming...all screaming different things, blending together into one awful, dissonant noise.

Professor Membrane glanced over at the television screen. The broadcast about Subject Z99 escaping from the government's alien research facility had come on again. The picture of Zim, eyes wide and panic-stricken, appeared on the screen, along with the image of Dib, Gir, and Gaz.

That was what the crowd was screaming about. They had seen the broadcast, and they knew exactly where the Membrane household was located. They had come for Dib, Gir, Gaz, and possibly Zim...it was obvious from their mixed screams. Dib thought he felt his heart stop beating.

_They had been discovered._

?

"Dad," Gaz dictated, eyes fixed on the area above the stairs, "We need to go upstairs and confront the crowd. You too, Dib." Dib tried to say something in response, but no words would come - he could only nod. "Gir, stay here and protect Zim." Gir saluted quickly and stood in front of Zim protectively.

"What are you thinking of doing, Gaz?" Professor Membrane asked as he, Gaz, and Dib made their way up the stairs, "Does this have something to do with the picture of you and your brother that just showed up on the news?" Gaz turned around and stared at her father for a few moments before nodding.

As soon as they reached the top of the stairs, Dib couldn't help but look out of the nearest window and see what was going on. A whole crowd of people - including several kids from Skool - had assembled in front of the house, most likely screaming about the news broadcast.

Dib couldn't figure out what they were saying, possibly because their voices were muffled through the wall. However, when Gaz pulled the door open and stepped outside, into the sunlight, their voices became clear. "Where's the alien?" "Hand over those kids!" "Give us the robot!"

Dib took a step forward, about to follow Gaz outside, but she held out her hand in a gesture that told him to stop. Dib obeyed and took a few steps back, unsure about what was going to happen. Professor Membrane stepped outside, but Gaz didn't object this time. A loud boo arose from the crowd.

"You're the girl's father, aren't you?" one of the men shouted, "She's a criminal! She probably still has the alien, the robot, _and _that other kid!" The crowd began to advance then, but Professor Membrane stopped them with a mere wave of his hand. Gaz stood there, expression a bit fierce.

"Calm down, everyone," the professor began loudly in an effort to drown out the assorted voices from the crowd, "There must be some sort of misunderstanding. What alien are you talking about? There are no aliens here, and I'm not sure what my kids have to do with this."

"Yeah, right!" another man cried, storming up to Professor Membrane and separating himself from the rest of the crowd, "We know Z99 is here! Plus, if the girl is here, then that boy and that robot are probably here as well! Don't lie to us, Membrane! We know where they are!"

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Professor Membrane told the crowd with a sigh, "There is no Z99 here. Yes, there is a robot, and my two kids are here, but I'm sure they're not the ones you're looking for. If you have no business here, please go somewhere else."

"Dad!" Gaz hissed, gritting her teeth, "You're not supposed to tell them that...!" Although Dib heard her, Professor Membrane didn't seem to. The crowd was advancing again, and a wave of the professor's hand wasn't going to stop them this time. Dib was beginning to get a bad feeling about what was going to happen.

"Let us in!" a woman screamed, sounding exactly like - and resembling - a banshee, "We need those kids, that robot, and Z99!" Professor Membrane stared to feel a bit nervous. He backed up slightly, but Gaz stood in the very same place, not moving. She appeared to be completely frozen.

"Gaz?" Dib asked quietly so only his sister could hear, "Do you need any help?" Gaz turned around and spent a few moments just staring at her older brother with a look he couldn't place. However, as soon as the crowd advanced a bit further, she stepped inside silently, using her own father as a distraction. That way, she could go back inside and keep herself hidden from the crowd. She closed the door behind her, and the only remnant of what had just happened was the muffled screaming outside.

"How d-did you..." Dib stuttered hesitantly, "...how did you do that?" Gaz said nothing in response - instead, she walked away...toward the stairs. Dib followed her, still wondering how she had devised such a plan so quickly. Gaz rushed down the stairs speedily, jumping over the creaky step as she did.

"Gir!" Gaz began sharply, landing on the hard floor of her father's lab, "Grab Zim. We have to get out of here." Gir looked a bit confused, but saluted, lifting the Irken invader into his arms and walking over to the eight-year-old girl. Dib watched them, not knowing what to say.

"Come on," Gaz told Gir and Dib, beginning her journey back up the stairs, "We can leave through the back exit." Dib couldn't help but wonder if there really was a back exit to his house. If there was one, he certainly hadn't noticed it. Apparently, Gaz had, because she led both him and Gir down the nearest hallway.

Sure enough, there was a door down that particular hallway Dib had never gone through before. Gaz opened the door and entered a pitch-dark room, with Dib following close behind. Gir was following her as well, carrying Zim as he went. Zim was still sleeping peacefully, as though nothing bad had happened.

As Gaz walked through the room, she put her hand up against the wall to be able to figure out where she was in the somewhat-large room by touch. Apparently, it worked, because she came to an abrupt halt at a certain point in the room. Dib didn't stop fast enough and bumped into her, immediately backing off just in case it would be considered as annoying her. Gir stopped as well, although he was a bit more careful and didn't bump into anything.

Gaz pulled a door open, and light streamed into the room. Dib didn't bother to look behind him as he left his house and landed in the grass. Had he looked behind him, he would've seen a decrepit-looking area that resembled a garage, filled with random objects and broken-down machinery.

Gir closed the door behind him as he left, which was when Dib took a bit of time to look around. The shouts of the crowd out front were quite loud - was Professor Membrane still confronting those people? - but there was a nice, gentle breeze, and the sky was a pure blue.

Gir did the same thing, lost in the beauty around him. The weather had mostly been cloudy and rainy for the past few weeks or so, and this was the first blue sky the dysfunctional SIR robot had seen in quite a while. He was completely entranced, unable to look away.

"We probably shouldn't run," Gaz muttered, "There's not much of a point when they're all gathered out there. Just be quiet and sneak past them...we can go behind these houses and make our way back to Zim's house." Dib and Gir both nodded, understanding the plan rather well.

Gaz, Dib, and Gir cautiously made their way through the grass. Dib held his breath, not exhaling until they got past that patch of grass and hid behind the next house. This pattern repeated over and over again until they finally reached Zim's house - an outcast amongst others that looked exactly the same.

The three of them had to walk around Zim's house in order to get to the front door, but they still weren't noticed. They slinked into the building, with Gir closing the door as quietly as he possibly could. They had done it - they had escaped the crowd and were now hiding in Zim's house.

"We can't hide up on this floor," Gaz told Dib and Gir, glancing around occasionally as she spoke, "Since there's no lock on the door, they'll find us rather easily. We have no choice but to use Zim's underground lab. Do you think he'll mind, Gir?" It was obvious that she already knew the answer, but she asked anyway.

"I don't think so," Gir responded, staring down at Zim, who was still lying in his arms and looking rather serene, "After all, Master can't remember anything." Gaz nodded and entered the elevator that would take her into the lab. Dib and Gir followed, and the elevator shot down into the laboratory.

Gaz stepped out and entered the eerily lit room. Dib was right behind her, feeling slightly lightheaded. Gir exited last, unfazed by the elevator's blinding speed. "Are we going to stay down here for the next few days?" he asked Gaz, bright blue eyes intensely focused on her face.

"Probably," Gaz replied, "but we're going to need nourishment and whatnot, along with a place to sleep, so..." Gir saluted quickly, pulling several blankets and pillows out of his head. Dib recoiled slightly, not expecting Gir to withdraw so many random items from his head. It was a bit weird.

"I can probably supply us with everything we'll need in the meantime," Gir murmured, "so...I guess we should wait for Master to wake up." Gaz nodded silently, unfolding one of the blankets and sitting on it, leaning up against the wall and attempting to relax. Even with the people above, looking for them, she still managed to stay calm.

Dib and Gir each unfolded blankets and sat down next to her. Gir gently put Zim down on the blanket Dib was sitting on. For a moment, Dib was transfixed, watching Zim's chest rise and fall with his breathing. He had been saved...he was okay...things were going to be okay.

"I hope there are some batteries around here," Gaz muttered, getting out her Game Slave video game system, "These ones are out of power." It was as though she had changed in an instant - this was a little more like how she usually acted. This was more like the Gaz Dib had spent so much of his life with.

"I could probably help you find some," Gir told Gaz, sounding unusually shy and nervous, "They're...probably somewhere around here." He and Gaz got to their feet and began to search, leaving Dib behind. They got themselves lost in the room, leaving Dib alone with Zim.

Dib quietly removed Zim's disguise, revealing the Irken invader he had traveled to Yew Nork in order to rescue. This was the Irken invader he had become friends with. This was the Irken invader who had once been very badly injured, but was now healed. This was the Irken invader Zim...the amnesiac Irken invader.

Dib gave Zim his own blanket and slipped a pillow under his head. Zim's antennae twitched a bit - perhaps he was dreaming about something. Dib hesitantly took Zim's hand in his, sitting there next to him for a few moments. Both of them were completely silent, engulfed in a strange form of peace.

This peace may have lasted for a little while, but it was a fragile sort of peace, and it shattered rather immediately when Dib noticed something odd on the side of Zim's face. The paranormal investigator let out a small gasp - there, on the side of Zim's face, was a long, jagged scar.

_It must have come from those injuries he received in Yew Nork, _Dib thought sorrowfully, _Oh, Zim..._Tears filled his eyes as he stared down at the scar. It was a memento - a memoir of the events that had occurred in Yew Nork. A memoir that could never be erased and could never be forgotten.

As though he was controlled by some other force, Dib found himself running his hand down the crooked scar. It was located in almost the exact same place where that cut had formed on the day the ten-year-old boy had tripped Zim on the way home from Skool. Whereas the cut had healed, the scar never would.

"Don't worry, Zim," Dib whispered, "don't worry. We may be losing the battle now, but things will get better soon. We'll win this fight, Zim. I know we will...and it's all for you. We're doing all of this for you." Dib wasn't sure, but for a moment, he thought he saw the Irken invader smile faintly.

_Sweet dreams, Zim._


	14. Chapter 13: Tell Me Everything

Dib was running - running as fast as he possibly could. He was running from something...but from _what? _He seemed to be racing through a dark forest, completely and utterly alone. The patter of feet in the distance told him whatever was chasing him was getting closer.

It didn't sound like just one person - it sounded like many. It was a crowd...a whole _crowd _was chasing him. Why? Dib picked up speed, dashing through the woods and avoiding the countless trees that stood in his way. To him, it seemed like they were there for the sole purpose of blocking his path.

The roar of the crowd stung Dib's ears. How had they caught up with him so fast? He could feel their hot breath down his neck, and could smell something...something burning. They had _torches. _Dib turned to the left and took off, taking random directions down the forest path.

Suddenly, a wall of rocks stood in front of him. _Dead end. _Dib whirled around and was immediately confronted with a huge crowd of people. Not only were they carrying torches, they were also carrying guns. Their faces held no signs of sympathy...only rage, irritation, anger, and hatred.

"Wh-what do you want?" Dib stuttered hesitantly, "What d-do you want...from me?" One of the people in the crowd - a tall, deadly-looking man - tackled the paranormal investigator and pinned him to the ground. Dib let out a yelp of fright as his body hit the dry, dusty earth below him.

"You!" the man snarled through clenched teeth, "You're Membrane's son! You're responsible for all of this, aren't you? This is all your fault!" The crowd advanced on Dib, circling him like a pride of hungry lions circles their wounded prey. Several guns were pointed at his "abnormally large" head.

"I didn't do anything!" Dib told the man and the rest of the crowd, "I haven't done anything wrong!" This seemed to be the wrong thing to say. Someone pulled the trigger of their gun, and an excruciating blast of pain shot through Dib's head. The crowd delighted in his screams of agony.

"You were responsible for Z99's death," the man, who was grinning sickeningly, muttered, "Have you forgotten? Have you lost your..._memory?_" Dib heard another scream, but it wasn't his own. He jerked his head to the side in time to see Zim clutch his chest in pain and drop to the ground.

"ZIM!" Dib cried, "ZIM!" He knew then that the Irken invader was dead - a puddle of blood was beginning to form around him, and his body went limp. It was true - Dib was responsible for the death of Z99. A horrible flash of pain hit him, and that was when he noticed his own blood pooling around his head.

Dib's vision grew foggy. He heard a voice, hidden in the shadows and calling his name, but he couldn't tell who it was. The word "memory" still lingered, spoken in many different voices that sounded like the hissing of snakes. Someone began tapping his shoulder, but that was when his eyes closed and the world went dark.

"...Dib?" an unknown voice called quietly, "Dib? Wake up, Dib..." The ten-year-old paranormal investigator opened his eyes and realized that he was lying under a blanket. A part of his mind had known the whole thing had been a nightmare all along, but that part didn't make itself known until after Dib woke up.

Dib stretched a bit and sat up, but didn't expect to instantly find himself staring into a familiar pair of ruby-red eyes. Zim was sitting in front of him, antennae pointed forward in curiosity. The jagged scar running down the side of his face was still there, although Zim probably hadn't noticed it yet.

"...Hello, Zim," Dib began, sounding a bit nervous due to his initial shock at seeing the amnesiac invader, "You're...finally awake. Good to see you." Zim paused, antennae twitching a bit, as though he was investigating the current situation without having to say a word.

"Hi, Dib," Zim replied, antennae still twitching, "Um...if you don't mind me asking...where are we?" For a moment, Dib was confused, but then he recalled Zim's amnesia. He had completely forgotten about the underground laboratory beneath his house - it was as though it had never existed in the first place.

"I suppose I have a lot of explaining to do," Dib murmured, "so I'll start from what happened after your attempted suicide in Yew Nork." Zim nodded to show his approval and leaned back a little, antennae now pointing backward and assuming a relaxed position. Apparently, his investigation of the world around him was over.

"While that gang was trying to grant your wish and kill you, Gir, Gaz, and I took the opportunity to stop them. You can probably remember that, but you fainted a few minutes after we saved you. Gir and Gaz rushed off to get to the ship - we built it ourselves - and I was supposed to carry you there."

"However, sleep overcame me, and I fell into a nightmare somewhere along the way. Gir took over from there, reconstructing himself into a temporary life-support system for you. When we got home, I had just woken up, but you were still badly injured from your time in Yew Nork."

"Luckily, my dad had the capability to save you, so you should be completely healed now. We're in the secret laboratory under your house right now, but that's because a news broadcast about our trips to Yew Nork has been showing recently. Now everyone thinks we're wanted criminals..." Dib's voice trailed off.

"Oh," Zim responded, "Is that why my leg is...wrapped up like this?" He gestured slightly toward the cast on his left leg, and Dib nodded silently. Zim still hadn't noticed the scar, and Dib began to wonder when he would be able to mention it. However, his thoughts were interrupted just a moment later.

"Well, look who's awake," Gaz muttered, walking up to Zim and Dib, "Hello, Sleeping Beauty." Zim, who rather obviously didn't get the joke, only smiled pleasantly. Gir stood behind Gaz, blue eyes wide with shock as he noticed the Irken invader sitting a few feet away from him.

"Master!" Gir squealed, rushing up to Zim and hugging him, "Master! You're okay!" Zim wasn't entirely sure how to respond to this, so he ended up hugging Gir right back. Gaz said nothing, expression making her seem a bit irritated. Dib watched them, smiling for just a split-second as he saw the two of them reunite.

Suddenly, a ringing sound went off from somewhere upstairs. "...Oh!" Gir cried, letting go of his master, "The waffles are done! I'll be right back." The dysfunctional SIR robot took off running and disappeared into the abundance of Irken machinery around him, probably to check the waffle iron above the laboratory.

Zim's smile faded a bit. "Are you okay, Dib?" he asked worriedly, "You seem a bit nervous. Is something wrong?" Dib was about to shake his head, but then stopped himself, unsure about what to do. Luckily for the ten-year-old, Gaz interrupted their conversation at that very moment.

"See for yourself," she told Zim, whipping her Game Slave system out from what seemed like nowhere. Zim tilted his head, trying to see his own reflection on the system's screen, and finally found it. Dib could tell because he let out a small gasp. His finger traced the outline of the crooked scar.

"I...I don't believe this," Zim murmured, voice sounding soft and sad, "Is this...from Yew Nork?" Tears stung his eyes, but when he recalled the extreme pain he had gone through during the rainfall back in Yew Nork, he held them back and stopped himself from bursting into tears.

Suddenly, Zim felt Dib's hand on his shoulder. "It's okay," he reassured the Irken invader, trying to prevent himself from crying due to Zim's unbearably sad expression, "It's going to be okay, Zim. It's just going to...take some time, that's all. Once that time is up, things will be okay."

Zim sighed quietly and lowered his head in sadness. The true insult to injury was that his antennae flopped over his face, making him look less like an amnesiac alien and more like an abused puppy. Tears were brimming in Dib's eyes, and neither of them noticed Gaz walk toward the elevator and join Gir to help him with the waffle iron. If Zim and Dib had listened to the chaos from upstairs, they would've realized that the waffle iron had shot waffles all around the kitchen.

The true insult to injury was how Zim started whimpering softly. "Zim..." Dib began almost-inaudibly, "Don't...don't do this, Zim. Trust me, it's...going to be okay." Zim looked up, antennae still in front of his eyes and obscuring his view of the world. He was rather obviously on the verge of tears.

"How?" Zim asked weakly, "How can things possibly be okay? The...the whole world thinks we're wanted criminals, Dib. I don't even remember being in this place before now. I don't remember why Gir calls me 'Master,' and I...I don't remember how we used to know each other."

Dib gently put his arm around Zim's shoulders. "Why don't I tell you, then?" he asked quietly, "I'll tell you everything, Zim...I'll tell you everything about what life was like before you got amnesia." Zim didn't say anything at first, but then his antennae twitched a bit, as though he was interested.

"I'll tell you the whole story...well, I'll tell you what I know about it," Dib continued, "but only if you want me to. Do you...want me to?" Zim didn't respond at first, but then a faint smile came to his face. Dib couldn't help but smile back. It was then that Zim nodded, telling Dib he was ready to hear the entire, unabridged story.

"In some sort of galaxy very, very far away from here, there's a distant planet known simply as Irk..."

?

"That was rather unfortunate," Gaz remarked darkly, glaring down at the burnt waffles that covered the kitchen floor. Gir was still standing in front of the waffle iron, trying to get it to stop catapulting waffles right into his face. However, when he had last tried to stop it, it had gone crazy and shot waffles everywhere.

"Come on, Mister Waffle Iron!" Gir almost-shouted, poking the machine in front of him, "Please be nice! We only want some waffles, okay?" The machine responded with a burnt waffle, shooting it right into the SIR robot's face. Gir picked it up and threw it across the room, not satisfied with a burnt waffle.

"Are you sure this is going to work?" Gaz asked as the waffle whizzed past her, "I don't think that stupid machine is going to listen to us." Gir turned around and shook his head, not giving up yet. He poked the waffle iron again, but all it did this time was sputter a bit.

Gir jumped backward and into Gaz's arms as the waffle iron rather abruptly burst into flames. Gir had no idea why he couldn't get "Mister Waffle Iron" to work - the kitchen appliance usually obeyed his every command. However, today, he was too distracted to think straight, and he couldn't work the waffle iron properly.

"Mister Waffle Iron!" Gir screamed, flinching as the flames licked the metal surface of the machine he had used ever since his arrival on Earth, "Mister Waffle Iron..." Tears filled the SIR robot's eyes as the waffle iron exploded, pieces of it flying all around the room. One of them smacked Gaz right in the face.

"...Gaz!" Gir cried, in shock, brushing the metal piece off of her face, "Are you all right?" Gaz was a bit shocked - why was Gir caring about her instead of the waffle iron? She couldn't help but smile as she thought about the dysfunctional SIR robot's compassion toward her.

"I'm fine," she replied, wondering how Gir had managed to jump right into her arms, "Why do you ask, Gir? Why aren't you paying more attention to that waffle iron of yours?" Gir looked confused for a moment, but then shakily got back up on his feet and smiled.

"You're my friend," Gir answered, "and friends come first. Are you sure you're okay?" Gaz nodded, beginning to wonder why Gir made her feel so strange. She tried desperately to ignore the feeling, but it kept on coming back, making her feel a bit nervous.

_Why is Gir doing this? _Gaz thought, _He used to be nothing but an annoying robot, and now...he's my friend? Is that what I should call him...my friend? _She said nothing, glancing around the room and at the burnt waffles that surrounded her. The waffle iron was nothing but a melted slab of metal.

"Should we clean up this mess, Gir?" Gaz asked quietly, "I don't think your master will be very happy with us if he notices this." Gir nodded and immediately darted off, returning about eleven seconds later with a broom of some sort. The dysfunctional SIR robot swept the floor several times, pushing all of the waffles into one corner.

Gir was about to pick them up and throw them away, but was stopped by Gaz. "Wait, Gir," she told him, "Don't go outside. The others will notice you, and then our cover will be blown. You should probably wear that disguise of yours first, right?" Gir tilted his head slightly in confusion, but then grinned and saluted.

"Yes, sir!" Gir cried jokingly, quickly slipping into his dog costume. He lifted all thirty-three waffles in one big stack, carrying them outside and dropping them in the nearest trash can before returning to Zim's house. As soon as he returned, he removed the costume, becoming his regular robotic self again.

"Thanks for reminding me, Gaz," Gir began cheerfully, "Those mean guys can't catch us now!" Gaz smirked, but found her gaze traveling toward the elevator that would take her back down to Zim's laboratory. She had no idea why - maybe she was nervous about Zim and Dib.

_After all, _the eight-year-old told herself, _an amnesiac alien and my idiotic brother can't be a good combination. They could probably get into all sorts of trouble. _Her smirk faded as the recalled what she had said to them the day Zim had come over for the first time.

_Ick. Just what were you _doing _in here? _Gaz couldn't help but think that if her life were some sort of story, everyone reading it would think dirty thoughts as they heard what she had said. As a matter of fact, she felt a bit guilty about it, but dismissed her guilt - it just wasn't like her to feel guilty about something.

"Hey, Gir?" Gaz asked, sounding a little anxious, "Um...do you think we should go down to Zim's lab? Maybe staying up here isn't the best thing to do...what if that crowd of people sees us?" Gir, understanding Gaz's point rather immediately, saluted again.

"Affirmative!" he almost-shouted, eyes flashing red for a brief moment, "We will travel down to Master's lab!" The little SIR robot rushed away, feet making adorable little squeaking sounds as he went. Gaz followed him, wondering how he could possibly get his feet to do that.

The two of them entered the elevator, which instantly took them to the underground laboratory that had once been used by Zim. Gaz noticed Zim and Dib out of the corner of her eye, but didn't move yet. The elevator's door slid open, but Gaz held an arm out to prevent Gir from racing out of it.

Although he wasn't sure what she was doing, Gir slowly followed Gaz out of the elevator while she kept her arm in front of him, as though she didn't want him to race up to the Irken invader and the paranormal investigator. It seemed as though she was trying to listen in on their conversation.

"So...the government system of the Irken empire is based on height?" Zim asked calmly, antennae pointing forward again in a way that made it seem like he was trying to investigate the oxygen around him. The jagged scar was still visible, especially from the way Zim was facing, although Gir didn't seem to have noticed it yet.

"Yeah," Dib responded, "They're called the Almighty Tallest. I think there are only two members, and their names are Red and Purple. I think they pretty much run the entire empire. You used to call them a lot...that computer over there did it for you." He pointed to the large computer standing against one of the walls of the room.

"What were they like?" Zim asked curiously, leaning forward a little. His antennae were a few inches away from Dib's face, and he seemed strangely giddy. Dib wondered if it was because of being told everything about his life. Perhaps it had something to do with his recovery...

"I hate to say that I don't know much about that," the ten-year-old confessed, "but I think Red was a bit more serious than Purple. They were both a bit more lackadaisical about the empire - you wouldn't believe how much they value snacks - than I imagined them to be."

"Hm," Zim murmured, apparently deep in thought, "And you're saying they were the ones who built Gir?" Gir couldn't help it - he let out a squeal of happiness and rushed up to Zim and Dib. Both of them were caught off-guard and could only smile when they saw how ecstatic Gir was.

"Master!" Gir began, "Master, it's so good to see you! I..." His voice trailed off into nothing when he saw Zim's scar for the first time. The dysfunctional SIR robot flinched, smile fading, as his eyes widened in mixed shock and horror. "Master..." he choked out, voice full of pain.

"Calm down, Gir," Gaz murmured reassuringly, walking up to the group of three, "It's just a scar. Your master is fine, Gir." Gir rushed up to Gaz and hugged her out of fear. Gaz put one arm around Gir's shoulders, wondering why she was being so compassionate to a robot she once thought of as annoying.

Zim's eyes darted toward the ground in shame. "I'm sorry, Gir," he muttered sadly, "We were just...just talking. I didn't mean to scare you, Gir." Zim's antennae drooped, and he was beginning to resume the gloomy expression he had had earlier.

Dib reached out and held Zim's hand. "It's all right, Zim," he reassured the Irken invader, "Don't be sad. I don't want to see you sad again." Zim looked up, realizing that Dib's brown eyes shone with hope. Zim couldn't help but smile, and his antennae rose a bit.

"Are you feeling any better?" Dib asked, noticing how Zim appeared to be cheering up. "If you are, then...do you want me to resume what I was saying about the Tallest?" Zim nodded, antennae sticking up again and beginning another round of "air investigation."

"Okay, then," Dib told Zim, "The Tallest did build Gir, although I'm not entirely sure how. The Tallest have to be pretty smart, building things like him. I mean, they _do _practically run the entire Irken empire..." His voice faded away for a moment, as though he was lost in some other world.

Zim squeezed Dib's hand rather abruptly. "Dib!" he began excitedly, "Dib! I...I just realized something!" Dib's eyes widened a bit, not expecting Zim to suddenly realize something that, judging from the way he was speaking, was probably rather important. Dib couldn't help but ask what it was.

"What did you realize?" the paranormal investigator asked, smiling warmly. When Zim spoke up again, Gir let out a small gasp. Gaz didn't appear to react, but perhaps she did and it was left unnoticed. Dib blinked in shock as the words his friend had said sank in.

"I think I know a way to get my memory back," Zim stated.


	15. Chapter 14: Help from the Leaders

"Are you sure this will work?" Dib asked nervously, looking over Zim's shoulder at the keyboard in front of him. The keyboard was covered in all sorts of peculiar symbols that Dib had never seen before. He guessed that they were part of the Irken language, but he wasn't entirely sure.

"...No," Zim replied sheepishly, grinning and revealing his zipper-like teeth for a brief moment, "but judging from what you've told me about my past, at least this plan has a chance of working." Dib laughed softly, although he was a bit worried about whether this plan would work or not.

Zim's hand closed over the computer mouse and moved it just a bit. Immediately, a startup screen appeared, and Dib began to have major doubts about Zim's plan succeeding. The screen was covered in text, but it was entirely Irken. There was a white bar at the bottom where something was supposed to be typed in.

There was a long pause. Zim couldn't look away from the screen, but the words looked like gibberish to his amnesiac mind. He was trying desperately to search through his memories and try to find something about this language, but he couldn't think of anything that would help.

"...You don't remember anything about the Irken language, do you?" Dib asked, wishing there wasn't a hint of irritation in his voice. Zim bowed his head in shame and tried to hold back tears. He had gotten so excited over this, and now his amnesia had gotten in the way yet again.

"No," Zim choked out sadly, "I...I don't." Dib immediately realized that the irritation in his voice had been heard and wished he hadn't spoken. Zim was very different now that he had amnesia - he seemed to be a bit more sensitive to this sort of thing, especially when it was from his friends.

Just then, Zim felt a comforting arm around his shoulders. "It's okay," Dib murmured calmly, "Relax. It'll be okay, Zim." Zim looked up and managed a small smile. Dib tried to restrict himself from flinching as he noticed Zim's scar yet again, looking like a red snake slithering across his skin.

Before Zim or Dib could do anything else, Gir came up to them. "Hi, Master!" he began cheerfully, "Are you having trouble logging in?" Gir's small, metal hands flew across the keyboard as he typed rapidly, entering six passwords in the blink of an eye. Zim and Dib watched him, in shock.

"All done," Gir finished simply, hands dropping to his sides. The computer's screen changed to one full of files that Zim had never seen before. None of them looked even vaguely familiar to him...they were about as familiar as the Irken text that had glowed in front of his face only a moment ago.

"Um..." Zim stuttered hesitantly, staring at the images on the screen, "...which one d-do you think is going to contact them...my leaders?" Dib shrugged, having never seen Zim's computer so close before. He couldn't read any of the Irken text either, and he was beginning to lose hope about this plan.

However, Gir came to the rescue yet again. "I think you clicked on this one, Master," Gir told Zim, moving the mouse toward an icon of the Irken symbol and clicking on it. A peculiar window appeared, showing a few lines of Irken text and then a list of numbers with more text after them.

"This must be the list of numbers you can call," Dib realized, scanning the list to see if he could read any of it, "Gir? Do you know which one of these will call Zim's leaders?" Gir paused, staring at the screen for a few brief moments. Finally, after about a minute of anticipation, Gir shook his head.

"I don't know, Dib," the SIR robot murmured sadly, staring down at the ground, "I'm sorry." Just then, Gaz approached, quietly eating a piece of toast and watching them search through the available numbers on the list. She counted the numbers silently, wondering if they were certain codes you had to enter to call certain invaders.

"Twenty-six," Dib muttered, "This is hopeless. We'll just have to guess which one will call your leaders, Zim." Zim sighed, sounding dejected, and stared up at the list, wishing he could just randomly guess. However, he didn't feel sure of himself - he had the feeling that he would call the wrong number.

"Isn't this obvious?" Gaz asked with a sarcastic tone in her voice, having finished eating her piece of toast, "The first number is probably the one Zim calls the most. As far as we know, he calls his leaders - the Tallest, or whatever - the most, so their number should be the first on the list." Before anyone else could react, Gaz grasped the computer mouse and clicked on the first number. Dib blinked in mixed awe and shock, preparing for the worst possible event to happen.

However, Gaz's logic was correct. A smaller window came up on the screen with a small hourglass icon in the corner of it. The text "Calling the Almighty Tallest" appeared in the window. Zim let out a small gasp and turned to face Gaz, antennae pointed straight forward.

"Gaz!..." Zim cried, smiling, "Thank you!" He hugged her quickly before returning to facing the computer. Gaz said nothing, but she was actually quite shocked. Now that he was an amnesiac, Zim was so affectionate and polite...not at all like he used to be. Gaz almost couldn't believe it.

Dib was also amazed. _Did Zim just...hug my sister? _he thought, _Did Zim just hug my sister...and live? _He felt a small smile come to his face as he watched the hourglass icon flip over continuously as the call went through. However, just then, his thoughts were interrupted by a small beeping sound.

Dib froze, not expecting the computer to make any sound. Zim's eyes widened in anticipation. Gaz didn't appear to react, although this was normal behavior for her. Gir's head turned as he faced the screen. There was an odd expression on his face that Dib couldn't quite figure out - was that _jealousy?_

The loading window disappeared and was replaced with a new one. An image of what appeared to be the interior of the Massive showed up, and both members of the Almighty Tallest stood in the middle of the room - one with bright red eyes, the other with a calmer-looking shade of purple.

"...Zim?" Tallest Red asked curiously with a look of doubt on his face, "Is that...is that really you?" Zim's eyes rather suddenly filled with tears. He nodded happily, taking Dib's hand in his to steady himself in case he collapsed due to happiness. Dib watched him, practically feeling his joy all around him.

"We thought you were dead, Zim," Tallest Purple murmured softly, "You haven't called us in weeks." Dib was a bit confused then - he had spent all this time thinking that the Tallest hated Zim. Perhaps they actually cared just a bit - judging from how concerned they looked...

"I'm sorry...my Tallest," Zim responded, pausing to blink back tears occasionally, "Dib and I...we have a long story to tell you about the past few weeks." He gestured toward Dib with his other hand as he spoke, not able to remember whether the Tallest had seen him before or not.

"You mean that large-headed boy?" Red asked, "I suppose you have quite the long story to tell us, then." His antennae twitched just a bit, and he seemed to be quite interested in what Zim and Dib were about to tell him. "Does this involve those two?" he asked, pointing to Gir and Gaz.

"Yes, it involves all of us," Zim answered, "We were all a part of it. I guess you could say I was at the center of it all, but, um...Dib, could you start the story off for us?" He glanced at Dib for just a second, and Dib could see a flicker of the tears that had filled his ruby-red eyes.

"Sure," Dib replied, smiling warmly, "It all started on the way home from Skool. Zim was walking home with me, for some odd reason. He was busy telling me about his plans to rule the world and whatnot, and I was beginning to get nervous. After all, we've been rivals for quite a long time now."

"After a while, I finally wondered if tripping Zim could put me a step ahead. I - rather stupidly - tripped him. His head hit the sidewalk, he got a cut on the side of his face, and he fainted rather abruptly. At first, I was overjoyed, but when I noticed that he was bleeding, I took off running."

"I found Master just a little while later," Gir continued, picking up where Dib had left off, "He was still bleeding, so I took him back home. He woke up a little while later, and he told me he couldn't remember anything. It was so scary! I thought Master could be dead, but then he woke up."

"It turns out that I had gotten a serious head injury, and it had given me amnesia," Zim explained, "I spent the rest of the night wondering who I was. I think Dib might have come by, but I'm not entirely sure. I eventually fell asleep after Gir told me that I had to go to Skool the next day."

"I reunited with Zim the next day, and was shocked when he asked me what his name was," Dib stated, "Although you may not believe this, we actually became friends. However, I made a fatal mistake then - I lied to Zim and told him he was completely human. He knew nothing about the Irken empire."

"Then, Master got sick," Gir added, "It scared me - he couldn't stop coughing! He told me he was going to go to the doctor's so he could tell him what was wrong, but if the doctor figured out that Master was an Irken invader, he would be in a lot of trouble. Master didn't know that, though."

"I stopped Zim right before he could enter the office," Dib continued, "but he refused to come back with me because he knew I was holding something back. He told me that we weren't friends anymore and went back into the doctor's office. A few seconds later, I heard the scream."

"The doctor figured out that I wasn't a human and sent me to the government's alien research facility in Yew Nork," Zim told his leaders, "I spent a short while there, but then Dib, Gir, and Gaz went to Yew Nork to rescue me. They used my Irken ship and ended up destroying it, but at least they made it."

"Sure, we rescued him, but he didn't come back with us," Gaz muttered darkly, "He took off, and we didn't see him again for ages. By the time we returned to Yew Nork, he was already badly injured. In all my life, I've never seen someone so hurt before, and that's really saying something."

"It hurt so badly," Zim remarked, "I was in a lot of pain. Luckily, Dib saved me, and we just got back here. His dad ended up fixing my injuries, and I'm all better now. However, there are still some problems...a news broadcast came up about us, and it apparently reveals my Irken identity."

"We're in Zim's lab because the crowd of people that saw the broadcast will find us if we don't hide here," Dib explained, "and getting arrested certainly isn't going to help us at this time. So...there is one thing we wanted to ask you, and I hope it's not too much to ask..."

"What is it?" Purple began, eyes wide with interest. Dib cast a quick glance over at Zim, Gir, and Gaz before replying. Zim's eyes were still brimming with tears. Gir seemed to have calmed down since his jealous expression earlier. Gaz's mood didn't seem to have changed at all.

"Can you...help us find a way to get Zim's memory back and erase the memory of the people outside?" Dib asked, voice dropping a few decibels as he spoke. He was a little nervous about what Zim's leaders would say - what if they just declined? What if this entire call had been good for nothing?

However, the Almighty Tallest did not decline. "I guess so," Red responded, looking away for a brief moment, "although we have a lot of work to do right now. Would it be all right if we arrived on Earth tomorrow?" Dib couldn't help but gasp - they had actually agreed! They were coming!

Before anyone could answer Red's question, however, everyone froze. There was a strange sound coming from upstairs, and it wasn't the waffle iron acting up again. This time, it sounded like...footsteps. Footsteps...that could only mean one thing. The one thing that Dib had been dreading for the past few hours.

_Someone was searching Zim's house._

?

"I can't believe I've been tricked," Professor Membrane muttered irritably, "I can't believe I was tricked by my own children...and those friends of theirs." He entered Zim's house in silence while the crowd stood behind him, every person within it holding their breath as he entered the suspicious-looking building.

The house was perhaps one of the strangest things Professor Membrane had ever seen. There was something about it - the peculiar atmosphere, the odd furniture - that made it seem vaguely inhuman. The professor wasn't quite sure what to make of this strange development.

"That foreign kid seemed perfectly normal," Membrane thought aloud, "but perhaps...he wasn't. Maybe he was actually the alien that was shown on that news bulletin." He paused to glance behind him, only to find himself viewing a closed door. The crowd of Z99-hunters was standing outside and waiting.

"Might as well get this over with," the professor almost-snarled quietly, as though someone was watching him and was about to pounce. "Dib? Gaz? Where are you two?" The man walked throughout the main floor of the Irken invader's house, but couldn't find anyone nearby.

Meanwhile, Dib and Gaz were standing, eyes widened in horror, in Zim's lab. Both of them were frozen for a moment, unable to believe that someone had pointed out where Zim lived. They had figured it out - Z99 was Zim. This couldn't amount to anything good, especially for Zim.

"Thank you," Dib whispered after desperately trying to calm himself down for a few moments and failing miserably, "I think someone's...searching the house upstairs. Do you mind if we...end this call?" Red shook his head, and Dib nodded at Gir, who pressed a certain key on the keyboard and closed the window.

"What do we do now?" Gaz asked through clenched teeth, "What if that's..." The eight-year-old girl was rather suddenly interrupted by a voice drifting into the laboratory from upstairs. That was the voice she had grown up with, the voice she had known for her entire life of almost nine years.

"...Dad," Dib realized, trying to silence his heavy breathing, "He found your house, Zim." Zim stood perfectly still, but his antennae wouldn't stop flinching. He was unbearably nervous, and Dib knew that. He also had the bad feeling that Zim could start screaming and running around in circles at any moment.

"Okay, everyone," the paranormal investigator began softly, "We all need to hide somewhere in the lab. Don't touch anything that might reveal our location to Dad. He might not even come down here, but if he does, we need to be prepared for anything...especially an investigation."

"Yes, sir," Gir replied somewhat-nonchalantly, giving Dib a quick salute before taking off with Gaz into a dark corner of the lab. Zim, who had been holding Dib's hand the entire time, gave him a worried look as he watched the gothic little girl and the dysfunctional SIR robot dash away.

"Shh, it's okay," Dib reassured the amnesiac invader, nodding just a bit, "We just need to hide somewhere. You can hide with me...don't worry, Zim. Just stay calm." Zim nodded, although he looked as though someone was about to jump on top of him from behind and beat him up.

"Let's go," Dib finished, rushing off in the exact opposite direction of Gir and Gaz. Zim followed him, trying to be completely silent as he went. The lab's surroundings were unfamiliar to him - had he been able to remember everything, he would've known where the best hiding place would be.

Eventually, Zim and Dib found a dark corner of the lab to hide in. It seemed like some sort of hole in the wall, but it actually served as quite the nice place to stay hidden in case your friend's dad was trying to find you and most likely arrest you. In actuality, it wasn't the best place because it was very unstable - it could collapse at any moment. However, Zim and Dib didn't know that, and entered the hole without much thought about its safety.

"Are you okay?" Dib asked almost-inaudibly, still holding Zim's hand in the darkness. He could still hear footsteps coming from upstairs, but they were fainter now - either they were farther away from Professor Membrane or he was walking away from them. Either one was possible.

"I think so," Zim answered worriedly, "I'm just...a bit tired, that's all." The Irken invader bit his tongue to prevent himself from yawning. He was rather suddenly tired, and couldn't see a thing in the darkness that was all around him. The only inkling he had of his surroundings was that Dib was holding his hand.

"Now that you mention it," Dib murmured, "I'm a bit tired as well." They both listened cautiously for sounds coming from upstairs, but the footsteps were almost impossible to hear. Zim's antennae were fine-tuned to the footsteps, but even then, they were very hard to hear.

Eventually, the footsteps were completely gone, and silence filled the house. It was a peaceful sort of silence, although nothing was peaceful for Zim at that very moment. He was sitting in a dark corner of his laboratory with his ten-year-old friend, an odd feeling of peace, and no memories.

Despite all that, Zim was strangely calm. He found himself relaxing, letting his troubles fade as he focused on the good things. _Dib, Gir, Gaz, and I are all alive. At the moment, nobody has found us, even though Dib's father was searching just a moment ago. Things are perfectly fine..._

Zim didn't notice his antennae drooping and beginning to fall over his face. Nobody could see them in the dark, and Gir's bright blue eyes were too far away to make anything visible or illuminate anything. If Zim had started to cry tears of blood or eat a piece of cake, nobody would've noticed it.

However, there are some things that can be noticed without needing to see. One of these things is feeling an Irken invader gradually slump against your shoulder. Dib had the idea that Zim didn't even notice what he was doing. Dib didn't reject him, knowing that he was probably sleepy.

Dib was correct, because he felt Zim's grip on his hand relax after a little while. He knew then that the Irken invader had fallen asleep, and was probably already in dreamland. The ten-year-old boy let out a sigh of relief, glad that there was at least one place where there were no dangers for Zim.

Dreamland for Dib was more of a nightmare world, but he ignored that at that very moment. The only thing that mattered was hearing Zim's soft, gentle breathing as he slept. He was okay for now...and things were going to get better. They were going to get help from the Tallest...help from the leaders.

Before Dib knew it, he was asleep, too.


	16. Chapter 15: A Nonhuman Promise

Dib stopped peering through the curtains for a brief moment to scan the scenery around him. Everything on the first floor of Zim's house was barely visible in the early light of the morning. The batteries in Dib's flashlight had gone dead ages ago, but it didn't really matter anymore.

Dib glanced up at the clock - six-thirty. Gir, Gaz, and Zim were probably asleep...well, at least Gaz and Zim were. Gir could possibly be awake, trying to repair the waffle iron. Apparently, it had broken down, and Gir was determined to fix it. However, Dib doubted that smoldering pieces of wreckage could ever be put back together.

The room the ten-year-old currently sat in was unbearably devoid of sound. Dib shifted a bit for the sole purpose of hearing his trenchcoat rustle. His eyes darted over toward the door, which had been bolted with quite a bit of machinery from Zim's lab. Nobody was going to get in through the front door - Zim and Dib had made sure of that. There were other ways to get in, but the front door was the main entrance for practically everyone.

Dib let out a quiet sigh. He was supposed to be standing guard in case someone tried to break in through a different entrance. He didn't want to admit that he had occasionally fallen asleep for a few minutes while on guard duty. The past few days of hiding from the rest of the city were giving him quite the bizarre sleeping schedule.

Just then, Dib heard a faint whooshing sound. _Has someone taken the elevator? _he thought, _Or did Gir have too much sugar and start bouncing off the walls? _The paranormal investigator sat up a bit more, trying to straighten his back just in case someone suspected him of slacking off on the job.

Dib glanced upward just as Zim stepped into the room. He looked a little bleary-eyed, and his antennae were hanging crookedly to one side. Dib guessed that he had just woken up. "Good morning," the ten-year-old began, trying to sound pleasant even when he felt like a zombie.

"Good morning," Zim replied cheerfully, walking up to Dib and sitting down next to him, "How do you feel?" His antennae twitched, becoming just a little straighter as he woke up. He rubbed his eyes gently, as though he was trying to wake himself up further and not drop off to sleep.

"I'm fine, I guess," Dib answered with a shrug, "I've been occasionally falling asleep, and I think I need some more rest, but I'm not going to give up on my guard duty yet." He stretched his arms out, putting them behind his head and no longer caring about whether he was sitting up straight or not. "What about you?"

"I just woke up," Zim told Dib, stating the obvious, "and I think I'm pretty well-rested." His antennae were now pointing forward again, doing the "air investigation" that had become quite a typical thing since his awakening after the trip to Yew Nork. Dib wondered if his injuries had something to do with it.

"Well, that's good," Dib remarked, "Have you seen what's going on outside? I hope the Tallest get here soon..." Zim shook his head, and Dib switched to a kneeling position and opened the curtains just a bit to show his friend what was going on right outside the house.

Zim let out a small gasp. The front yard - and quite a bit of the sidewalk - was covered in tents of all sorts. A few signs saying things such as "We want Z99!" and "Arrest the children!" were lying in the dewy grass. The crowd of people who wanted to capture Zim, Dib, Gir, and Gaz were camping out around Zim's house.

"I know," Dib muttered, "This is bad. They're not giving up, but if the Tallest don't get here soon...we'll have to end this. We'll have to give up and reveal ourselves to the world." Zim gave Dib a sad look, making him resemble a small child that had just found a dead kitten on the ground.

"D-do you think so?" Zim asked, voice trembling. Dib wished he could take his words back, remembering how sensitive the amnesiac invader seemed to have become. He shook his head, putting one hand on Zim's shoulder in an effort to cheer him up just a bit. The Irken invader found himself smiling weakly.

"No," Dib admitted, "I'm sorry about that, Zim. Maybe I'm just being a little pessimistic about this whole ordeal." Zim said nothing, but Dib knew he understood. The Irken invader continued to stare out of the window, ruby-red eyes intensely focused on the tents outside.

"...Hey, Dib?" Zim began after a few moments of silence, "When the Tallest get here, how will we know?" Dib paused, having not thought of that before. He had just figured that they would show up without any problems - after all, they were the Almighty Tallest, right? They could do anything they wanted...right?

"I have no idea," Dib confessed, voice containing a bit of a sad tone, "but when they come...well, maybe we'll know. After all, how hard is it to spot the leaders of the Irken empire when they're headed straight for the planet you live on?" Zim shrugged, unable to stop himself from smiling happily about Dib's statement.

"That's true," the Irken invader remarked, "I can't wait to see them." He sounded generally positive about the Tallest coming, whereas Dib felt a little bit nervous. Perhaps it was just something about the fact that the leaders of the Irken empire were going to arrive on his home planet.

"How long were you sleeping, Zim?" Dib asked, beginning to go off-topic. He was fairly sure that he had only gotten about forty-five minutes of rest, but he had no idea how long his friend had slept. Despite his slight drowsiness, Zim still seemed pretty well-rested, at least through Dib's eyes.

"I think I was sleeping for about eight hours," the Irken invader replied, "I'll probably be fully awake in a few minutes or so." Zim was unable to tear his gaze away from the tents. Dib couldn't help but wonder why - after all, they were only tents. Everyone within them seemed to be asleep.

"How are Gir and Gaz doing?" Dib asked, eyes gravitating toward the sleeping bag lying on the ground a few feet away. He didn't remember what the point had been in bringing a bar of chocolate upstairs with him - now that he thought about it, he wasn't even sure where he had obtained it.

"They were both asleep when I woke up," Zim explained, still not looking away from the front yard, "They both looked really peaceful...sort of like angels." For a moment, Zim's expression became distant, as though he was in a whole other world. If someone had said anything, he wouldn't have noticed it.

This was about the time that Dib decided there was nothing more to say. Although Zim was staring at the tents outside, his blank expression told Dib the truth about what was on his mind - absolutely nothing. His antennae were pointed straight back, as though nothing in the room was even vaguely interesting to him.

Finally deciding that there wasn't anything else to do, Dib returned to looking at the tents outside. One of the tents seemed to stir, and Zim's antennae perked up with interest. Dib flinched, wondering if the crowd was beginning to awaken, and decided to stare up at the sky to alleviate his nervousness.

However, the sky made Dib's eyes widen in shock. A peculiar shadow - a large one, mind you - was visible high above them. Dib tried to gasp, but he couldn't make a sound. A part of his mind knew what this shadow was, but it didn't surface at first, so he spent a little while looking at the shadow in horror.

Eventually, Dib found himself able to speak again. "...Um, Zim?" he began nervously, "What...what is that?" He pointed up at the shadow with one shaking finger. Zim, who probably hadn't even noticed the shadow, turned to face Dib for a brief moment before his attention shot up toward the morning sky.

"Wow..." Zim breathed, "It's...it's such a huge shadow." Once again, he was stating the obvious, but Dib ignored that. The shadow was getting progressively larger, and it began to come into further detail as it grew. Dib assumed that the shadow was getting closer and closer to him and Zim.

Whatever the dark shape was, it was even larger than the paranormal investigator originally thought it would be. Colors began to become visible, and that was when Dib realized what it was. That shadow wasn't a shadow at all - it was a ship. Judging from Dib's calculations, that was no ordinary ship.

Dib's mind flashed back to the countless times Zim had spoken about the Tallest before he had gotten amnesia. Hadn't he mentioned what their ship looked like? If he hadn't, this was certainly the image Dib had in mind when he thought of a ship that the Tallest would use.

"Dib!" Zim told his friend, tugging on his arm just a bit, "Look at what the ship is doing!" Dib glanced up at the ship and rather suddenly noticed what Zim was talking about. A considerably smaller ship was breaking away from the larger one, its purple color visible even from far away.

Neither Zim nor Dib said anything - they were mesmerized by the smaller ship. The larger one wasn't getting any bigger, but the smaller one was. As it got closer and closer to Earth, Dib desperately hoped that the ship was being piloted by the two Irken leaders he had spent so long waiting for.

After a while, the ship began to pick up speed. A few minutes later, the ship was about forty feet from the ground. This was when it rather suddenly started soaring through the skies at a much faster speed than normal. It did what could be almost considered a nosedive before zooming right past Zim's house. Both Zim and Dib instinctively backed up, catching a final glimpse of the ship before there was an awful crunching sound - the ship had gone right into a forest.

A few of the people on the front lawn, awoken by the noise, poked their heads out from the tents. Zim immediately ducked down so that nobody could see him, but Dib peered at the humans from behind the curtains. They were looking around, obviously annoyed at whatever had woken them up.

The saddest image was that of a young woman, her tent standing next to a "Z99 Belongs To Us!" sign. The wail of an infant could be heard from within the tent, and Dib could see a crying baby in her arms, obscured by the woman's straight, auburn hair. However, it was what the woman said that depressed Dib.

"Shh," she murmured soothingly, "Relax, Will. _Relax. _It was just a loud noise, Will. I know you miss your toys, honey, but don't worry - once that alien scum and those juvenile delinquents have been captured, we can go home." She made an odd motion with her arms that made it look like she was shoving the baby back into the tent.

_What kind of parent would bring their child to an event like this? _Dib thought miserably, _This is horrible. I always thought the world I lived in was a bit dark, but...I've never seen someone do anything like that. _A part of his mind flashed back to his father and how he had never paid attention to him, but Dib ignored it.

"Are...are they gone?" Zim asked, lying on the floor as though standing up would send a bullet through his head, "Can I...can I get up now?" Dib got to his feet and closed the curtains, preventing Zim from seeing what was going on outside, but also preventing the people outside from seeing what was going on within the house.

"It doesn't matter," Dib responded, "because even though they're not gone, they can't see you now." Zim's antennae twitched as he stood up shakily, pressing one hand against the wall for support. His scar was still visible, and would most likely never be completely hidden from the rest of the world.

Just as Zim turned to face Dib, the paranormal investigator knelt down and lifted the bar of chocolate he had brought with him. "Hey, Zim," he began, "Do you want this? I don't think I'm going to eat it...as a matter of fact, I have no idea why I even brought it up here with me." Zim paused for a moment before reaching out and taking it.

"Um...sure," Zim replied happily, "Thank you." He unwrapped about one fourth of it and bit into the chocolate, unable to stop himself from smiling. "This is really good, Dib," the amnesiac invader told his friend, "What is it?" For a moment, Dib looked confused, but then he remembered that Zim had amnesia.

"It's called chocolate," he replied, "I'm glad you like it - most people do. Are you ready to go investigate that ship?" Zim took another bite of the chocolate and nodded cheerfully. Dib walked off then, with Zim eagerly following behind him. His eyes briefly gravitated toward the front door, but there was no point in trying to go through it - he and Zim had boarded it up. Besides, neither of them would benefit from walking right into a huge group of their enemies.

"Do you know if there are any other ways out of your house, Zim?" Dib asked, unable to stop himself from looking around. Zim paused for a moment before silently pointing toward one of the windows. Jumping through the window wouldn't lead them right into the crowd - it would lead to the side of the house.

Understanding what Zim was telling him, Dib rushed up to the window and forced it open. Although it was a bit of a difficult platform to reach, he made it, leaping up with his trenchcoat billowing out from behind him. Hoping that this wouldn't lead him into a trap, Dib closed his eyes and jumped out of the window.

Luckily for him, he ended up landing on soft grass. He had survived - he was okay. Zim followed him, getting to his feet just as his antennae pointed forward yet again. "Let's go find that ship, Dib," he murmured quietly, so the people camping out around the front of his house wouldn't hear him.

Both Zim and Dib tried their hardest to be silent as they stepped through the grass and toward the forest. Zim's antennae switched to pointing backward, practically pressed against his head as he walked. Both he and Dib couldn't deny their nervousness about being spotted as they got closer to their destination.

As soon as he was sure that the others couldn't hear him, Dib turned to face Zim with a smile. "Race you!" he told the amnesiac invader, immediately beginning a sprint toward the forest. Zim let out a peal of sharp laughter before following his friend, dashing along just a few feet behind him.

The two of them took the exact path the ship had taken, running past the trees that had fallen as it had zoomed through. They would occasionally stop to take a quick breath before starting again, but other than that, they were completely focused on reaching the ship - preferably winning the race as they did so.

Eventually, Zim crashed right into a clearing. "Ha!" he cried, watching as Dib entered the area, "I win!" Dib sank to his knees, unable to stop laughing. Zim laughed as well, but then his ruby-red eyes darted up to the ship, which had been expertly landed in the middle of the clearing without a scratch.

The ship, which was a light purple, had a large image of the Irken symbol printed on both sides. A bit of smoke was coming from the engine, but it stopped after a little while. The door on the right side of the ship slid open, and two incredibly tall figures - both Irken - exited it and stood in the grass, in front of Zim and Dib.

The Tallest had arrived.

?

Dib immediately got to his feet. He had never seen the Tallest in person before, and he felt as though he needed to be courteous about it. "Um..." he began awkwardly, taking a few steps closer, "Hello, Almighty Tallest." He smiled just a bit, hoping he seemed like someone who could be trusted.

"Greetings, Dib," Tallest Red replied calmly, "Good to see you." He returned Dib's smile, which made the paranormal investigator's nervousness melt away in a matter of seconds. Both Dib and Red glanced over at Zim, who was standing as straight as he possibly could, antennae twitching occasionally.

"M-my Tallest..." the Irken invader stuttered, trembling like a leaf in a storm, "I...I..." Zim's voice trailed off, unable to think of anything to say. Tallest Purple got a bit closer to him, having not seen his scar before. He stared at the side of Zim's head with his own tilted slightly in confusion.

"Zim...?" Purple asked, feeling like he was missing something, "Where did the...the _scar_ come from?" Zim flinched a bit when he heard the question, having not expected to be asked about his scar. He immediately whirled around and faced Purple, hoping he wouldn't start stuttering again when he spoke.

"Oh, this?" the Irken invader asked, gently running one finger along the edge of the jagged scar, "It's...a result of my injuries in Yew Nork, my Tallest." He seemed to have gotten the hang of speaking to his leaders rather quickly, but he was still nervous. His whole body was quivering as he responded to Purple's question.

"So," Red began, expression turning serious in an abrupt manner, "The Massive has been sent into Earth's orbit, but is too far away to be seen with an ordinary eye. Even then, there's nothing the inhabitants of this planet could do to it, so we're not worried about the ship being seen."

"However," he continued, "there's still one small matter that needs to be taken care of." Red began to gradually wander around the immediate vicinity as he spoke. "The purpose of us being here is to help Invader Zim get his memory back. That can be taken care of, although it won't be easier than erasing the memories of the people outside. The crowd seems rather large, but we can probably take care of it without much trouble. Getting Zim's memories back might take up a lot of time."

"That's okay," Dib replied almost-instantly, "We have...we have all the time in the world." Purple glanced at Dib quickly before facing Red again. Red's scarlet-colored eyes were intensely focused on the ten-year-old boy standing a few feet away from him. He was, by far, the most intelligent human Red had ever seen.

"That may be true," Red responded, "but there's the small matter of you keeping our secret. If your kind figures out that the leaders of the Irken Empire are here on Earth, it may spread. We're always being watched, Dib...always. You never know when another force may target you and take you down."

"There's a promise to be made here," Purple added, going right ahead and telling Zim and Dib what he was going to say all along, "It's rather simple. You keep our current location a secret and don't tell anyone. We'll help you out, free of charge. However, if you reveal our secret...well..."

"You're dead," Red muttered, "We have the capability to hunt you down and kill you, and since you're a mere human, it will be incredibly easy. You must keep this promise for the good of our safety and your own. Do you promise that you'll keep this a secret?" He held out one spindly-looking metal hand toward Dib.

Dib twitched, perhaps out of nervousness, but gave in and took Red's hand. "Yes," he told Red, staring right into his Irken eyes, "I promise." He let go of Red's hand and glanced at Zim for a brief moment. Zim looked like he was about to explode with joy, judging from the bright smile that was now on his face.

Purple looked over at Red, and Red nodded, which caused him to immediately disappear into the ship. For a moment, Zim and Dib wondered what was going on, but then Red spoke up again. "Alright, then," he told the Irken invader and the paranormal investigator standing in front of him, "Let's get to work."


	17. Chapter 16: With Love and Emotion

Peculiar dreams seem to occur rather frequently in the minds of humans - especially children. Their minds are teeming with imagination and insanity, and when those two worlds come together, their strange dreams seem to take up their sleeping hours and fill those aforementioned lost hours with whimsy and delight.

No child's mind could possibly be as peculiar as that of Gaz Membrane. Throughout all eight years of her life, her sleep had been filled with some of the strangest dreams the world had ever seen. It wasn't the dreams themselves - it was the unusually dark tone that always remained with them and made them a bit unsettling.

That night, Gaz's dream was one of the oddest yet. She was walking through what appeared to be a meadow, but she couldn't tell - she could only see the dull-colored grass she was walking through. A cold, metal hand was holding hers, and she didn't have to look up to know that Gir was walking beside her.

Gaz raised her head and found herself walking through a cemetery. Pale gray clouds covered the sky like a thick blanket, and the grass seemed to stretch out endlessly before her. She was surrounded by gravestones, the reading on them so old and faded that it had become illegible. Everything looked so empty and lonely.

Gir's bright blue eyes seemed unusually lifeless and sad as they walked. Gaz kept on holding his hand with the fleeting hope that it would cheer him up. She didn't understand why she even bothered, however - why was she being so nice to this little robot? What had he ever done for her, anyway? He hadn't done anything...

Gir raised his head like Gaz had done only moments before, eyes focused on a location in the distance. Gaz followed his gaze and found herself looking at a lone tree. Its leaves were a dull green, slightly darker than the grass, and were rustling in the breeze. Below the tree's branches stood three more graves, lined up in a row.

Gaz and Gir approached these three graves. There was something about them that was pulling Gaz in, entrancing her. Her feet made no sound as she walked, and the usual squeaking sound that accompanied Gir's footsteps was absent. Both of them were completely silent as they walked toward the three graves.

The graves' text appeared to be legible. The first grave read "PROFESSOR MEMBRANE" in rather small letters. Gaz took in this information without a second thought - her father was dead. This was fine with her, especially when she thought about the fact that she could spend the rest of her days with Dib, Zim, and Gir.

However, the second grave read, in slightly larger letters, "DIB MEMBRANE." A pang of sadness stung Gaz's heart, and she clutched her chest with her left hand, still holding onto Gir with her right. Her older brother was dead. For some peculiar reason, this hurt. She had always strongly disliked him, and now...pain.

Although pain glistened in Gaz's eyes, she still felt a morbid sort of happiness within. Who cared if her father and brother were dead? She still had Zim - glorious, wonderful, Zim..._amnesiac _Zim. He could be her friend - her only friend in a distorted, lonely world...and, of course, with Gir as their brainless, robotic servant.

However, the third grave read, in the largest letters yet, "ZIM." Gaz couldn't take it - she let go of Gir's hand and dropped to her knees, letting out a scream of pain. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Gir stepping toward the tree, although she couldn't fathom why. The three graves stood in front of her, intimidating her, putting her through so much pain. Her hands landed on the soft grass, and she moaned in pain, feeling like continuous arrows of sadness were going through her chest.

Gaz's body went rigid as she felt something cold touch her shoulder. She looked up and found herself staring into Gir's eyes. His expression was blank, but his eyes shone with compassion, sympathy, and pity. He held out a hand, and Gaz took it, holding on as though his hand was the only thing keeping her alive.

Gir's hand went up a few inches, and Gaz shakily got to her feet, still clutching her chest with her other hand. Gir silently pointed toward the tree, and Gaz followed that point toward a thin, pale blue blanket that was lying in the grass. The dysfunctional SIR robot led Gaz over to it, and she instinctively sat down, the graves less than four feet away. Gir sat down across from her, still staring into her sad-looking eyes. Gaz stared back, not entirely sure of what was happening around her.

Gir pulled a basket out of what seemed like nowhere and reached into it, and handed Gaz a small, wrapped object. Gaz unwrapped it - it was a sandwich. She found herself unnaturally hungry and bit into it. It tasted wonderful, and the eight-year-old found herself feeling nostalgic, although she had no idea why.

A few minutes later, Gaz and Gir were eating sandwiches and sipping herbal tea. This was unusually pleasant, especially after the nightmarish events that had just taken place. The two of them continued their picnic in silence, occasionally staring into each other's eyes for brief, slightly awkward moments.

Time passed, and Gaz found herself putting her tea saucer down after finishing her sandwich. Gir had finished his as well, and was staring at her again. There was something odd hidden within that gaze - it almost seemed ominous. This was when things began to get even creepier and more surreal than they already were.

The sky rather suddenly went pitch-black. Three spirits rose from the grass around them - obviously Professor Membrane, Dib, and Zim. The professor's eyes were filled with stone-cold anger, as though he was furious with Gaz. Ghostly tears were streaming down Dib's cheeks, and he occasionally let out a sob and buried his face in his hands for a few moments. Zim's expression only showed longing - he was longing for his memory, longing to be reunited with Dib, yearning to be alive again...

A surge of pain accompanied the spirits' arrival, and Gaz cringed, wanting it all to stop. The spirits seemed to be closing in on her, trying to suffocate her with their otherworldly auras, their ethereal voices filling the silence. However, Gir took Gaz's hand in his own and whispered three words that eased the pain: "It'll be okay."

Gaz found herself involuntarily tilting her head to one side. Gir leaned in closer, also tilting his head. Gaz had no idea what was going on, but the spirits' colors seemed to be fading - they were almost invisible when she closed her eyes. Something frigid and probably metal touched her face, and Gaz Membrane and Gir kissed...

Gaz's eyes snapped open. The world around her was dark, and it was impossible to see. However, she felt the comforting warmth of a blanket covering her, and her head was resting on a pillow. She knew then that the entire thing had been a very disturbing and unsettling dream, and that was what made her feel nervous.

_Did I just...kiss Gir? _Gaz asked herself, shivering even though she felt perfectly warm, _And were those...the spirits of Dad, Dib, and Zim? Why would they...come back to haunt me? Is that what will happen if I...if I let things go? If I...if I leave Zim and Dib alone for too long?...Why did I kiss Gir? Did I...was I...in love with him...?_

"Gir," Gaz began darkly, "Are you awake?" Her voice still sounded normal - it wasn't wavering with sadness or anything. She saw a flicker of a familiar shade of blue on the edge of her vision, and she knew then that Gir was most likely awake. His voice made her squeeze the pillow with one hand, not sure what to say or think.

"Yes," Gir replied quietly, "I'm awake, Gaz." He turned a lamp on, and the room was bathed in light. This wasn't the eerie form of light that the underground lab usually had - this one was more like the light of an old-fashioned living room where a father sat in his armchair and read bedtime stories to his children, nestled by the fireplace.

"Well, um..." Gaz stuttered, voice dropping a few decibels, "...good morning, Gir." She cautiously sat up and found Gir sitting beside her. The brilliant glow of his eyes didn't harm her - it made her feel strangely comforted. Those eyes, although nothing but bright blue circles, could hold so much emotion - so much joy, sorrow, pain...

"Good morning," Gir told Gaz, gently taking one of her hands in his in an effort to cheer her up, "Did you sleep well?" Gaz almost wanted to shake her head and moan - that had been one of the worst dreams she had ever had. Although there was something about kissing Gir that made her feel oddly peaceful, none of it made any sense.

"I...well, I had a strange dream..." Gaz confessed nervously, "Dad, Dib, and Zim...they were all dead. You and I were...having a picnic, and..." She had to stop - one of the surges of pain from the dream seemed to become real and attack her. She flinched, biting her lip to stop herself from saying anything.

Gir squeezed Gaz's hand as a gesture of kindness. "It's okay, Gaz," he murmured, "It'll be okay." Those very words made Gaz completely lose it. Gir's eyes widened in shock as he felt Gaz's arms around him. She had never hugged him before...had she? She didn't seem like that type of person, but now...nothing made sense.

As soon as she realized what was going on, Gaz let go of the little SIR robot and stared down at the ground, unable to meet his gaze. "I'm sorry," she muttered quickly, "I just...lost control for a second. I'm sorry, Gir." Gir, still in shock, gently grabbed Gaz's hand again, trying his hardest to comfort her and make her happy.

"It's fine, Gaz," Gir replied, "Don't worry about it. Is something wrong?...You seem really sad. Is this about that...that dream?" Gaz looked up, hoping she didn't look completely stupid, and nodded. Gir's expression became a pensive one. He looked away, as though he was staring at something several feet away from him.

"...I had a dream like that once," the dysfunctional SIR robot admitted quietly, "Master was...Master was dead. I was sitting in...in the corner of Master's lab, because he...he had told me to before he died. I...I spent the rest of my life there...standing in the corner because it was Master's wish. It was so lonely...so alone..."

Gaz blinked in shock. "That must've been horrible," she stated incredulously, "I'm...I'm sorry you had to live through that." The eight-year-old watched as Gir got to his feet and turned around, as though he was searching for something. After about thirty seconds of Gaz watching him, he faced her again, looking rather confused.

"Have you seen Master, Gaz?" Gir asked anxiously, "I...I can't find him." Gaz shakily got to her feet and looked around, but Zim was nowhere in sight. For one horrific moment, she thought that her dream had come true and that Zim had died, but then she decided to think of a more logical approach to the situation.

"He probably woke up and went upstairs," Gaz remarked, "He probably wanted to be with Dib or something...I don't know." The idea of Zim waking up and going upstairs just to be with his friend made Gaz feel a little unnerved, although she had no idea why. "Should we go upstairs and look?" Gaz asked.

"Sure," Gir responded, "Good idea." He and Gaz entered the elevator and were immediately taken upstairs without any second thoughts. Gaz walked ahead of Gir and into the front room, expecting Zim and Dib to be there. However, both of them were gone - they seemed to have vanished without a trace...maybe they really were dead?

Gaz froze, remembering the graves from her dream. Gir took her hand and squeezed it. "They probably just left," he assured her, "Maybe the Tallest arrived and they went to see them." Gaz nodded rigidly, hoping Gir was right and that her brother and his friend weren't dead. "I wonder where they could've exited?" Gir asked.

"Oh, look," Gaz muttered sarcastically, beginning to calm down, "They didn't even close the window." Gir burst into a fit of lighthearted, bubbly laughter and darted through the window. Gaz followed, gracefully landing on the grass and hoping that the crowd outside hadn't noticed their silent escape from Zim's house.

However, quite a few of the humans seemed to be awake - they were pacing and carrying some of the signs that had been lying in the grass only a few hours before. Gaz cringed as one of them whirled around and almost noticed her. However, he looked the other way and didn't see the purple-haired girl sitting in the grass.

"Okay, Gir," Gaz whispered, "Where do you think they went?" Gir stood up, eyes immediately turning a violent blood-red color. His head gradually turned as he surveyed the area, probably trying to locate Zim and Dib...wherever they were. Gaz smiled just a bit - there was something about Gir that was impossible not to like.

"Search complete," Gir dictated in an extremely robotic tone, "Targets found within the forest." His eyes turned bright blue again as he pointed toward the nearby forest. "Let's go, Gaz!" he cried positively, racing away and toward the mass of trees that was about thirty feet away. Gaz followed him, occasionally glancing over her shoulder in case one of the people standing outside of Zim's house saw her. However, luckily for her, she was completely unnoticed, and she entered the forest with Gir.

The forest was nothing but a blur for the minute SIR robot as he raced through it. His feet were moving at a lightning-fast speed, so set on reuniting with his master that he even forgot about Gaz for a few moments. Joy surged through him as he ran, mind flashing back to the wonderful days of serving Zim before he had gotten amnesia.

Gaz, on the other hand, walked slowly through the forest, expression blank. She took in everything as she walked, absorbing every single image without a sound. Dappled sunshine made its way through the canopy of leaves, lighting things up below and casting a series of peculiar spots on Gaz's pale face.

Gir burst into the clearing rather loudly - he was probably loud enough to capture the attention of some of the people camping out outside of Zim's house. He landed in the grass, laughing breathlessly, and shakily got to his feet, taking in the area where the Almighty Tallest had landed and where Zim and Dib were now located.

The Tallest's ship was still positioned in the middle of the clearing, side door still wide-open. The area inside was unusually dark, and Gir found it rather hard to see within. However, he could occasionally see shadows moving around, and could guess that those shadows were Tallest Red and Purple.

Gir cast his gaze over toward the grass a few feet away from the ship. Zim was lying in the grass, ruby-red eyes staring up at the sky. He was holding a small, pink flower against his chest, and his breathing was peaceful and slow. He looked like he was either deep in thought or mesmerized by the beautiful sky above him.

"Hello, Master!" Gir cried cheerfully. Noticing the SIR robot, Zim sat up and smiled, crooked scar now visible yet again. Unable to stop himself, Gir rushed up to his master and hugged him. Zim hugged him back, although he wasn't entirely sure the robot that had once been his servant had randomly embraced him.

Gir let go right when Gaz entered the clearing. There was a faint smile on her face, as though she was remembering something pleasant from her past. "Greetings, Zim," she told the amnesiac invader sitting in the grass, "I suppose the Tallest have arrived?" She eyed the light purple ship, staring at the Irken symbol on the side.

Before Zim could respond, Dib Membrane left the ship, smiling when he noticed Gaz and Gir. "Good morning, Gaz," he began lightheartedly, "You too, Gir. Did both of you sleep well?" Gaz only nodded, still unable to look away from the Irken symbol. Perhaps it was just the symmetry of the symbol that intrigued her...

Tallest Purple stood behind Red, smirking a bit when he saw Gaz. "So...this is your sister, Dib?" he asked coolly, "...Gaz, was it?" Gaz looked away from the Irken symbol and found herself face-to-face with one of the most powerful figures in the entire universe. Saying nothing, she only nodded, too lost in thought to speak.

"We've been working on a machine that hopefully, when used, will erase the memories of everyone camping out in front of Zim's house," Purple explained, "It _should _work - we've built things like this before. Trust me, erasing memories is much harder than bringing them back." Dib looked up at the Irken leader and smiled.

"Do you think there's any way we could help out?" the paranormal investigator asked, "After all, I don't think Zim and I have anything better to do." Purple paused for a brief moment, as though considering the possible options, but then his antennae twitched slightly as his gaze flickered over toward Zim.

"Sounds good to me," Purple replied, "There isn't much work that you could do at this point in time, but I suppose there are some minor tasks you could help us with. Go right ahead and come in if you want to help." He reentered the darkness then, leaving Dib standing in the doorway and staring at Zim from a few feet away.

"Hey, Zim?" Dib called, "Do you mind helping us with this machine?" Zim turned to face Dib and got to his feet with a grin. Dib watched as he nodded excitedly and walked up to him. The two of them entered the ship together, prepared to do whatever the Tallest told them to do. Gaz watched them in silence, not sure what to say.

Gir was about six feet away from Gaz, watching her. There was something about her that he just didn't understand...what was it? He had absolutely no idea, and as he watched her run one hand through her purple hair, he decided that spending the whole day with her had a chance of making him figure out what was going on.

"...Hey, Gaz," Gir murmured, walking up to the eight-year-old, "...Want to play Hearts?" Gaz's eyes seemed to sparkle for a brief moment, recalling how she had taught Gir how to play her favorite card game during their trip to rescue Zim. She nodded happily, and the two of them sat down in the grass and began to play, as though none of the rest of the world mattered anymore.

?

The sun had set about thirty minutes ago, and the sky was beginning to grow quite dark. Zim and Dib had rarely ever left the Tallest's ship, normally staying within it and helping with whatever tasks they were assigned. When the sky was almost so dark that it was impossible to see, Dib decided it would be better to stop working for a little while and go outside. He hadn't seen Gaz or Gir for a few hours, and he was beginning to wonder what was going on with them.

Gir was sitting up against the side of the ship, absentmindedly shuffling his deck of cards again. Gaz was nowhere in sight. "...Hello, Gir," Dib began calmly, "Are you getting ready to play another round of Hearts?" Noticing Dib, Gir looked up and stared into the ten-year-old's eyes for a few moments before shaking his head.

"No," he replied quietly, "I'm missing a card." He showed Dib several of the cards within the deck. "See? There are only fifty-one." Dib had no idea why Gir was acting so nonsensical - this form of nonsense wasn't normal for him. However, that was when he saw Gir's metal finger point toward a nearby tree.

"I think Gaz is over there," Gir told Dib, "if you want to talk to her." Dib nodded and walked over toward the tree Gir had been pointing to. He could barely see, but the tree was still visible in the dark, and as he walked around the tree, his younger sister was easy to see. Her purple hair was unmistakable within the forest.

Gaz's back was pressed up against the tree. She was shivering, and occasionally inhaled deeply. Dib gently touched her arm - it felt unnaturally cold, even for her. That was when Dib noticed that the ace of hearts - the missing card from Gir's deck - clutched in her pale hands. There was something about this that seemed...off.

"...Gaz?" Dib asked softly, "Gaz? Are...are you okay?" Gaz slowly rose from her position against the tree and stood up straight. She clutched the ace of hearts against her chest, looking much shorter than she usually did. When she spoke, her voice was shaky, and she sounded like she could be catching a cold.

"N-no," Gaz stuttered almost-inaudibly, "I'm...I'm not okay...Can we go home, Dib? P-please...I want to go home." Dib watched, in horror, as his younger sister whimpered quietly, as though in pain, and backed up against the tree again. Dib held out a hand, and Gaz took it, although she seemed a bit hesitant.

"Okay," Dib responded, trying to keep his voice from wavering, "We're going home now." He led Gaz back into the clearing, and Gir's head shot up when he noticed them. "Gir?" Dib called, "I'm going to get Zim. We're going home now, Gir, so can you please stay with Gaz while I go get Zim?" Gir got to his feet and nodded.

"Gaz?" Gir began, walking over to the eight-year-old girl and taking her hand in his own, "It's okay, Gaz. We're going home now, Gaz." Gaz said nothing - she couldn't. She had rather suddenly felt one of the surges of pain from her dream, and it was even stronger than it had been before. The pain was immense, and rather startling.

Dib and Zim left the ship with Dib holding Zim's hand. Zim yawned and looked up at Gaz, eyes slightly glazed over with a lack of sleep. "...Hey, Gaz," he murmured drowsily, "Good to see you." He yawned again - Zim was exceptionally tired, but since he had completely overworked himself for the Tallest, it was normal.

"See you tomorrow," Dib called back toward the ship where Red and Purple were still working. There was no response, but Dib knew that both members of the Tallest had heard. The party of four made their way through the forest in silence, aside from Gaz's occasional whimpering. Gir's glowing eyes worked as beacons, helping Dib, Zim, and Gaz find their way out. They made it out of the forest, through the grass, and then found themselves standing in front of the window.

Gir grabbed Gaz's other hand and activated his built-in jets, shooting up about four feet into the air and sending himself and Gaz through the window. Dib had to jump up, and Zim found it extremely difficult due to the fact that he was about to fall asleep. However, he managed to get in and close the window behind him with Dib's help.

Gaz staggered over toward the couch and sat down, still holding the ace of hearts. Gir watched her, unable to tear his gaze away from the girl who he had spent so much time with over the past few weeks. She looked remarkably small and hopeless now, and Gir was oblivious to what had happened in her dream the night before.

Neither Gaz nor Gir noticed Zim dizzily walking over toward the nearest sleeping bag and collapsing on top of it, asleep in an instant. Dib was rather surprised that an Irken invader could be so overworked. Zim seemed to have really outdone himself - he was already asleep and breathing quietly, looking quite serene and calm.

In the back of her mind, Gaz knew that Zim had just fallen asleep. The surge of pain was still there, and she couldn't bring herself to look into Gir's eyes and tell him. Her thoughts were interrupted when Dib sat down next to her, looking extremely worried. "Gaz?" he asked her, trying to be gentle, "Is everything alright?"

Gaz shook her head, immediately feeling a metal hand in hers and knowing that Gir had taken her hand in his own again. His words - "It'll be okay" - echoed in her ears, and that was when it happened. All of that built-up pain and nervousness throughout the dream and the entire day was released in one fell swoop, and to everyone else's shock, for the first time in her entire eight-year-long life, _Gaz Membrane burst into tears. _Immediately, her face was buried in her hands, and she was sobbing.

"Gaz!" Dib cried, completely awestruck, "Gaz! What...what happened?" Gaz couldn't reply - she was unable to stop crying. Gir was also awestruck, and had no idea what to do. His best friend, Gaz Membrane, was sitting next to him and sobbing for what seemed like no reason. Tears filled his own eyes as well.

"Gaz..." Gir choked out, "Gaz, please, listen to me. I...I don't know what's making you cry, but...but it's going to be okay, Gaz! Everything will be okay!" His voice was rising in pitch as he spoke, and by the time he had finished, he was blinking back tears. Gaz sniffed, watching as the SIR robot tried to hold in a sob of his own.

Dib got up and left, returning a few minutes later with a blanket, which he cautiously slipped around Gaz's shoulders. She exhaled shakily, and before she knew it, her older brother was watching her embrace Gir. Both of them sat there, in each other's arms, unable to stop themselves from letting the tears flow.

After a while, Dib had fallen asleep, and Gaz and Gir had gradually calmed down. They were both under blankets now, still shivering despite the fact that the room they were in was quite warm. Zim and Dib were lying on sleeping bags on the other side of the room, their sleep too deep to be ended by Gaz and Gir.

"Gaz," Gir began quietly, "I'm...I'm sorry about that. I...don't really know what came over me. I don't know what came over you either, but I promise you that things will be okay. I'm not entirely sure what my mind is telling me and what my heart says, but I do know one thing...we'll make it out of here, with love and emotion."

"W-with...love and emotion?" Gaz stuttered weakly. She looked rather pathetic, sitting beside a dysfunctional SIR robot and trying to calm down and stop crying, but to Gir, she was something else entirely. Neither of them had any idea how much those words meant to one another, or what they would eventually come to mean.

"Yes," Gir whispered, "With love and emotion."


	18. Chapter 17: Invader's Rescue

**A/N: To my dear readers: I'm so very, very sorry for making you wait so long for this chapter. I deleted my fanfic "When I'm With You" after chapter 5 didn't get a single review, and I've spent the past two months or so being very inactive. As a (rather lame) excuse, I got the video game EarthBound for Christmas, and it's become my personal favorite, so I can't stop playing it.**

**Once again, I apologize for the lack of updates. Hopefully, this chapter will make you feel better. I'd send you a cookie if I knew your address, but I don't, so...yeah.**

**Anyway, enjoy. Hopefully, you'll see more updates in the near future.**

The first thing Zim noticed when he awoke was that shadows were dancing on the wall. He couldn't say that he felt entirely well-rested, so maybe he wasn't completely awake yet. Perhaps he was still dreaming, and within his dream, he was watching shadows dance across the wall in a surrealistic, otherworldly waltz.

Zim's distant expression remained as he watched the shadows bow to one another and begin another dance. He almost expected sweet, soft music to play as the shadows danced, but heard nothing. Instead, he was still lying on top of the sleeping bag, unable to tear his gaze away from the images in front of him.

Zim immediately shifted into a sitting position when he heard a clicking sound from behind him. He whirled around, antennae pointed forward in a hostile manner, half-expecting an assassin to come charging straight at him and attack. However, there was no assassin - the only other person he saw was Dib Membrane.

Dib, like Zim, was at least half-awake. He was lying on his stomach and staring up at the wall, completely mesmerized. A flashlight was on the floor in front of him, casting its bright beam on the wall and illuminating the ballroom the shadows appeared to be dancing in. His brown eyes seemed even wider than usual.

Zim's anxiety levels lowered when he realized that Dib was doing something peculiar with his hands. He wasn't sure what the ten-year-old was doing, but it didn't look hostile. He relaxed just a bit further, but found himself accidentally collapsing onto his sleeping bag with a dull thump, antennae falling down over his face.

Hearing the amnesiac invader fall, Dib's gaze immediately snapped toward him. Zim propped himself up using his elbows and faced Dib. The paranormal investigator was grinning sheepishly, as though Zim had just caught him talking with a painter about painting the entire room with a not-so-charming shade of neon pink.

Zim smirked as Dib's hands stopped moving and dropped to the ground. "What are you doing?" he asked curiously, switching back to a sitting position and being careful not to collapse onto the sleeping bag again. Dib shot him a look of disbelief and picked up the flashlight, absentmindedly twirling it around with one hand and making the beam travel across the ceiling. Although Zim was trying to stay focused on Dib, he couldn't help but watch the flashlight beam's random movement.

"I'm...well, I'm making shadow puppets," Dib confessed, "I know it sounds stupid, so go ahead and laugh." Instead of laughing, Zim smiled pleasantly, got to his feet, and pulled his sleeping bag over toward Dib. Dib watched as he sat back down on top of it, attention now focused on him instead of the flashlight beam.

"That doesn't sound stupid," Zim commented, "That actually sounds pretty cool. How do you do it?" Dib put the flashlight back down, carefully positioning it so that a perfect circle of light shone upon the wall. He stuck one of his hands in front of it, casting a hand-shaped shadow within the circle of light and obscuring some of it.

"See that?" Dib asked, "It's the shadow of my hand." Zim nodded, having already gathered that. "All I have to do is..." Zim watched the shadow rather suddenly transform from an ordinary hand into what looked like a dog. Zim found himself laughing, having not expected making shadow puppets to be that easy.

For a few minutes, both Zim and Dib were separated from the rest of the world, unable to stop making shadow puppets on the wall. True, it was rather childish, but Dib was ten years old and still a child by most standards. Zim, on the other hand, had technically never experienced childhood, so this was completely new to him.

As soon as Zim had woken up, the first thing he had noticed was the dance of the shadows, ignoring everything else and only focusing on the movements of the shadow puppets on the wall. However, after a while, Zim began to come back to reality, and this was when he stopped watching the shadows and turned back to Dib.

"Hey, Dib," Zim began casually, "Where are Gir and Gaz?" Dib turned the flashlight off, propelling the room into darkness. Zim flinched from shock, but recovered quickly and found himself looking around, trying to envision what the room had looked like while the flashlight had been on. He couldn't see a thing in the dark.

"I don't know," Dib replied, "I just woke up, noticed the flashlight, and wondered if anyone would notice me making shadow puppets." He turned the flashlight back on (Zim flinched again) and carefully moved the beam of light around the room. Zim began to wonder just how early it was and whether the sun had risen or not. If it had, he couldn't tell - the windows were shut so tightly that no beams of sunlight could sneak through them. For all he knew, it could've been the middle of the night.

Zim watched as the flashlight beam snaked toward the couch, where it found its targets - an eight-year-old girl and a dysfunctional SIR unit. Gaz was fast asleep, looking deeply relaxed. Gir was lying next to her, one thin arm around her shoulders. "Aw," Zim commented, not finding the situation awkward at all, "That's cute."

"...Yeah, I guess it is," Dib agreed, "but I don't want to be the one who wakes them up." Zim laughed softly and got to his feet, prepared to face the challenge of awakening Gaz and Gir. Dib's eyes were slightly wide, but he still managed to stand up and watch Zim walk up to his younger sister and her robotic friend.

"Hey, Gir," Zim murmured sweetly, using a voice that would probably be more fitting for awakening the love of his life, "It's time to get up, Gir. You too, Gaz...wake up." Dib was in a state of mild shock now - he had never heard Zim speak in that tone of voice before. He sounded so remarkably gentle and kind.

Gir was the first to awaken. His bright blue eyes opened slowly, giving Zim a gradual introduction to them so that when they were fully open, their glow wasn't overwhelmingly bright. His arm gradually retracted from Gaz's shoulders, but he didn't sit up. Instead, he snuggled closer to Gaz, caught in a daze for a short moment.

"Good morning, Gir," Zim told the SIR robot in an extremely pleasant voice, "Did you sleep well?" Gir nodded silently and buried his head in the soothing surface of the couch, obviously too tired to be rational in any way, shape, or form. Gaz was still asleep, perhaps not even noticing that she was sleeping next to Gir.

"You can't go back to sleep, Gir," Zim insisted softly, "You have to wake up." Eventually, Gir overcame the burden of sleepiness and sat up, eyes only half-open. He hadn't yet registered that he had spent the entirety of the night before sleeping next to Dib's younger sister, but at least he was awake and alert now.

"Good morning, Master," Gir began with a vaguely happy tone in his voice, "I had a...a weird dream last night, you know..." He yawned quietly and stretched, as though this was just another normal morning for him. "I...I think I was with Gaz. We were...on the beach, Master. I don't remember what happened, though...I think we...um..."

"It's okay if you don't remember, Gir," Zim told his robotic servant, "Maybe you'll remember later. We're going to visit the Tallest now, though, so you need to get up, okay?" Gir saluted sleepily and jumped off of the couch, landing on his feet with a quiet clunk. Dib watched, still rather astounded at how good Zim was at waking others up.

However, the more difficult challenge lay ahead, and Dib knew that better than anyone. A few years ago, he had been in charge of waking Gaz up in the morning, and she almost never cooperated. Even when she did, he almost always ended up leaving his house with his face slightly red from Gaz slapping him, which was both painful and embarrassing.

Despite this, Zim seemed perfectly relaxed about the whole manner. Both Gir and Dib watched as he sat down next to Gaz and whistled one tremulous and quite loud note. For some odd reason, Dib immediately knew what that note was - it was a G. This surprised him, as he had never known much about music of any sort, and now was no exception.

"...for crying out loud, Dib!" Gaz snarled angrily, "Turn your freaking alarm off!" She immediately sat up and glared at Dib, eyes practically shooting daggers. Gir, oblivious to the fact that Dib was about to be murdered, smiled joyfully and pointed toward Zim, who had stopped whistling and was now expectantly staring at Gaz.

Gaz's attention shot over to Zim. "...Oh, it's only you," she muttered, still sounding a bit hostile, "Am I supposed to get up?" Zim simply nodded, and Gaz got off of the couch and stood up. The piercing look she gave Dib was unmistakable - perhaps she assumed that he was responsible for telling Zim to whistle in order to wake her up.

"...Maybe we should go visit the Tallest now," Gir suggested quietly. Gaz's expression softened and she walked over to Gir, deciding to stay near him for the duration of the trip back into the forest. Dib exhaled quickly, having been holding his breath out of nervousness after Gaz shot that frightening look straight at him.

The group of four calmly left through the window and slinked through the grass, appearing in the forest less than two minutes. Remembering what he and Dib had done very recently, Zim took a few steps forward and turned around to face Dib, Gir, and Gaz. "Race you!" he cried, sprinting away before anyone could say anything else.

Gir and Dib immediately followed, laughing as though they no longer cared about being spotted. This made sense - the humans were actually trying to find ways to break into Zim's house, but they weren't doing a very good job of it, and the majority of them were beginning to give up. Although their laughter was clearly audible, it was ignored. Perhaps everyone assumed that those voices just belonged to a couple of kids who were racing around in the forest. They didn't bother to question it.

Gaz couln't help herself, and she ran after them, trying desperately to restrict herself from smiling. When the four of them arrived in the clearing where the Tallest's ship had landed, Zim won due to the advantage of getting a head start. Gir's jet packs put him in second, and Dib came in third, although he didn't seem that sad about it.

The ship's door opened, and from the darkness within, a pair of gleaming red eyes was visible. "Hello, Zim," Tallest Red began, "We were beginning to wonder when you and the other three would arrive." Zim got up, brushed some of the forest debris off of his Irken uniform, and walked up to the ship with Gir, Dib, and Gaz right behind him.

"How are things going?" Gaz asked as she entered the ship with the others. All around her were perfect examples of advanced Irken technology, although she observed it with nothing but a mere shrug. To her, all machinery was really the same - either you made it or you didn't. That was just how things were with Gaz, though.

"Part one of our plan to get Zim's memory back was completed this morning," Tallest Purple replied, appearing from one of the dark corners of the ship, "It's the machine that will erase the memories of the entire planet." He gestured toward the darkness behind him and a single light turned on. Dib gasped as the Tallest's machine was revealed.

The contraption was gigantic, spreading around that corner of the ship like a spider's web in the corner of an attic. Everything about it looked intensely powerful - to Dib, the peculiar-looking tubes that kept it standing highly resembled pythons. _If this were a cartoon, _Dib thought, _my eyes would probably be bulging out of their sockets by now._

"What do you think?" Red asked, a smug tone noticeable in his voice. Zim, Dib, Gir, and Gaz immediately burst into applause. Red and Purple both bowed, obviously soaking up the awe and amazement from the four spectators. "We were waiting for you to show up before we used it - after all, I highly doubt you'd want to miss this!"

Dib nodded eagerly, blown away by the glorious machine. He didn't hear anything else the Tallest said after that. "Everyone in this ship is already protected from the machine's waves," Purple explained, spindly-looking fingers reaching toward the "on" switch, "We're all fine, but the rest of the world is about to forget everything they know about this entire incident. They'll remember Zim, but as an 'Earthenoid' or whatever you call them - not an Irken invader." That was the last thing he said before he pulled the switch.

The world was frozen. For a split-second, rainbow-colored waves shot across the sky. They orbited the entire Earth, causing a shower of light to rain down upon every man, woman, and child upon the planet. They were all frozen like statues, unable to move for the duration of the machine being used. However, it happened so fast that no one noticed. Zim, Dib, Gir, Gaz, Red, and Purple were still, unaffected by the machine's waves. No one on Earth could escape the power of the Irken memory-eraser.

Perhaps you were somewhere on Earth when the machine was turned on. Perhaps you were frozen just like the others were, unable to escape the shower of light raining down on you. However, if you had been on Earth during this time, you wouldn't be here. You wouldn't be reading these words, and you wouldn't be absorbing this information.

After all, the machine's work was a success. You would have no memory of Zim.

?

Dib shivered, wondering if the ship had suddenly gotten colder. The world was moving again, but he still felt a bit frozen. It was as though the machine had sucked the heat out of the hair, and its absence wasn't exactly comforting. He looked around, wondering if everyone else standing within the Tallest's ship was just as cold as he was.

Zim was silent, nervously glancing at Dib. Gir was staring up at the ceiling with his usual bright eyes. Gaz kept looking toward the exit. Although she wasn't wearing a trenchcoat like Dib, she appeared to be fine and not cold at all. _Is it just me? _Dib thought, _That's...odd. If I didn't know any better, it would be considered a paranormal occurrence..._

"Did the machine...did it work?" Zim asked anxiously, turning away from Dib in order to face Red and Purple. The machine had shut itself off, although it was making a quiet humming sound. As soon as Zim asked the question, both Gir and Dib faced the Tallest, wanting to know the answer to the very question that was also on their minds.

"It's hard to tell," Red admitted after a moment of silence, "The machine works so quickly that we don't even see it happening. Zim might've seen a short burst of rainbow-colored waves, but that's all." Dib nodded to show that he understood, although in reality, he felt like he had missed a lot. Maybe he was still awestruck over the Irken technology.

_Can one race possibly be so advanced? _Dib asked himself, _It doesn't seem...real to me. Am I dreaming? Please wake up, please wake up, please wake up..._Ironically, at that very moment, Gaz walked up to her older brother and pinched his right arm. The ten-year-old whirled around, cringing from the unexpected pain.

"If their machine worked, then Dad doesn't have any memories of the previous events," Gaz reminded him, "He could even be home by now. You know...home. Not Zim's house, but our actual home. Do me a favor and come back there with me, okay?" Dib, clutching his right arm with his left hand, wasn't sure what to say at first.

"Would any of you mind if Gaz and I went home and came back later?" Dib asked, turning his head slightly to look at Zim, Gir, Red, and Purple. Red and Purple said nothing, but Zim and Gir shook their heads calmly. Zim looked a bit confused, probably wondering why Zim would want to go home, but if he was, he didn't ask.

"Okay, then," Dib told Gaz, "Let's go." He cast one last glance toward Zim before leaving with his sister. She seemed very sure of herself - she almost appeared to be striding through the forest. Dib's mind flashed back to yesterday and how small and weak Gaz had seemed. She had even _cried! _What had happened to change her mood so drastically? He could only assume that whatever it was, she had gotten over it. Or maybe Gaz was somehow bipolar. Dib highly doubted the second theory was true.

As they left the forest, Gaz paused and peered over at the area in front of Zim's house. The humans were already beginning to pack the tents up and return home. The woman with the baby that Dib had seen a few days ago was staring at the "We want Z99!" sign in her hand, wondering who Z99 was and how in the world the sign had gotten there.

Dib laughed softly. "Looks like things are finally going back to normal," he remarked quietly, "I wonder if the news station remembers the broadcast they did." Gaz paused, wondering what the answer to that question would be, and then turned around to face her brother. In the back of her mind, she hoped she didn't look too hostile.

"Nobody should remember it, unless someone recorded it or the news station has a copy of the broadcast. And if they do, they'll probably wonder when they did that broadcast and why. It'd probably be pretty good scary story material, now that I think about it." Gaz walked along the sidewalk, and Dib followed, trenchcoat rustling in the slight breeze.

Dib felt like he hadn't been home in forever. When he saw the house in the distance, he felt his happiness level rise just a bit. There was something about seeing the house he had lived in for over a decade that made him smile. Even reuniting with his dad, who usually didn't really care about what he did, made him feel like grinning.

"You're smiling like an idiot," Gaz muttered without even turning around. Dib, who had no idea how Gaz had seen his face without turning around, quickly stopped smiling and tried to look as stern as possible. He still felt sorry for his sister after what had happened the night before, and he was ready to do practically whatever she told him to do.

Dib's mind began to wander, and as he and Gaz walked up to their house, he asked himself what would happen after Zim got his memory back. _Will we just...not be friends anymore? _the ten-year-old thought, _Zim's being so...so nice now. I...don't want to see him act like he used to. I don't want to fight Zim ever again..._

Without warning, Dib found himself standing in front of the front door. Gaz knocked twice, and Dib had the almost-irresistable urge to rock back and forth on his heels while they waited for their father to answer. Dib started wondering what his father's reaction would be to his return. _He'll probably ignore me, _the ten-year-old thought, _After all, he always does. I'm...I'm used to it by now. _Realizing that his father's ignorance didn't really hurt him anymore was a bit of a shock to Dib, and he went rigid when he heard the door open.

Although Dib had been expecting his father to answer, he was still startled when it happened. "Kids!" Professor Membrane began in a slightly hostile tone of voice, "Where have you two been? You've been missing for days!" Gaz's face went just a bit paler, and Dib's eyes widened in shock. Did their father actually _care?_

"We've been...um, we've been...out somewhere," Gaz stuttered, suddenly finding it extremely difficult to lie for some reason, "S-sorry we've been gone, Dad...we just...didn't think you would care." Her usage of the word "we" made her father unexpectedly turn toward Dib, showing an unusual, furious side of himself that had never been seen before.

"You wrapped Gaz up into this, didn't you?" the professor practically screamed, making Dib take one step back in fear, "You got her lost somewhere! _You could've killed her! I could've watched my daughter die!_" This hurt much more than the usual ignorance, especially because Professor Membrane was technically forgetting about his son's existence.

"I can't believe I'm saying this..." the professor began darkly, turning away for a short moment, "but...Dib Membrane, _you're grounded!_"

?

The view of the moon from Dib's room was absolutely spectacular. He had spent the past seven minutes or so thinking about this, having never realized it before. Dib had been trapped in his room for the past four hours, and had just about nothing to do. He had never been grounded before, and it wasn't a very pleasant sensation.

Gaz, of course, had gotten off without any punishment. He had heard the sound of the front door opening about two hours ago and assumed that she had gone back to Zim and Gir. It was a bit painful to think that Dib's own sister had deserted him like that, but he had to remind himself that this was normal. Gaz obviously didn't like him...right?

"...Then again," Dib thought aloud, lying on his bed and still staring at the moon, "what about the events that occurred yesterday? She was...she was crying. I've never seen her cry before - even when she was just a baby, she never cried." He abruptly thought about how she had embraced Gir. There was something about that that was...odd.

"So my sister hugged my former enemy's robotic servant," Dib muttered, trying to boil things down to the simplest terms possible, "What's wrong with that...aside from the obvious? Gaz hasn't been her usual self lately...at all. She's cried, she's actually treated me like a person...she's acted as though she's in love with someone."

_Gaz and Gir, _Dib thought, _Hm. I guess they're a pretty cute couple. It seems pretty far-fetched...but I guess it'll have to do. After all, I can't change anything about it. I can't do anything from where I am now..._To put it bluntly, being grounded really sucked. At least Dib knew what it was like now, although he doubted it would help him in the long run.

It was getting late - it was probably around nine now - and the sounds of nocturnal creatures were beginning to travel across the city. A few years ago, Dib had marveled at the bats flying across the sky on summer evenings and wondered how an owl's hoot could sound so mysterious. Now, he ignored most of it - he had other things on his mind.

Amongst the assorted sounds of nighttime, there was another, almost inaudible sound that Dib could barely hear. At first, he thought it may have been the wind causing the leaves in every tree to rustle, but it was too quiet for that. He could only come up with one conclusion as to what the sound was, and that was that someone was walking around outside. Dib immediately found himself wanting to ask why someone would be walking around at this hour, but then again, he had traveled around this late many times in the past. As a matter of fact, walking around this late was actually pretty normal for him. All those times he had been hunting Zim late at night...they seemed so far away now.

The sound was beginning to get louder. Perhaps whoever was walking around was getting closer. However, Dib could never be too sure. It was probably just some innocent bystander with no memory of the Z99 incident. After all, as far as he knew, everyone in the city aside from himself, Zim, Gir, Gaz, Red, and Purple remembered none of it.

Dib closed his eyes for a brief moment, wishing he knew when he could finally leave his room. Although his father had never done this to him before, Dib didn't think breaking the rules would be a good idea. He couldn't help but wonder how many rules - or even laws - he had already broken in order to rescue Zim and try to help him get his memory back.

Just then, the sound of glass shattering resounded throughout the room, immediately followed by a loud thump. Dib instantly went rigid and sat straight up, not knowing what had just happened. The ten-year-old's eyes widened in shock when he saw Zim lying on his bedroom floor. He appeared to have just jumped through the window.

Zim hurriedly got to his feet. "Dib!" he began, trying to be quiet so that Professor Membrane couldn't hear him, "Hi! Gaz told me you were grounded, but...but I wasn't about to let that stop me!" The Irken invader's bright red eyes glowed in the moonlight, and his antennae were doing that "air investigation" thing again and twitching constantly.

"I..." Dib stuttered nervously, "I...um, I...thank you, Zim. You really didn't have t-to...do that, you know..." Zim's smile didn't fade as he took one step closer, avoiding the pieces of broken glass that now littered the floor. He held out a hand, and Dib took it, confidence slightly renewed right when he touched the hand of the amnesiac invader.

"Yeah, I actually did," Zim replied calmly, "I couldn't spend that much time without you, Dib. Are you ready to go? Gaz and Gir are waiting for us." Dib glanced toward his bedroom door, wondering what his father would say when he returned. His gaze then moved over toward Zim, who was now staring at him with a slightly nervous look in his ruby-red eyes. He took a few moments to consider his possible options, but then looked deep into Zim's eyes and nodded silently.

"I'm ready," Dib told Zim, "Th-thanks for coming to...save me." Zim turned around, still holding Dib's hand, and skipped over toward the window, pulling Dib along behind him. He was humming happily to himself, glad to be reunited with Dib. The ten-year-old began to wonder if he had ever seen Zim this happy before.

"You're welcome, Dib," Zim answered cheerfully, letting go of Dib's hand to quietly open the window, "It's an invader's rescue. I missed you, Dib - even though I was only away from you for a few hours." He silently slipped out of the window and climbed down the side of the house. "Need any help getting down?" he called from the ground below.

"I...I don't think so," Dib responded nervously, entire body shaking as he climbed out of the window and slowly made his way down. He let out a nervous yelp when his foot slipped and he fell, but there was only a brief, tense moment before Zim rushed up and caught him before he could hit the ground and get hurt.

"Are you okay, Dib?" Zim asked worriedly, holding his friend in his arms. Dib nodded and cautiously got to his feet before turning to face Zim. "Okay, then," the amnesiac invader continued, a bright smile on his face, "Let's go home." The ten-year-old watched as Zim skipped across the grass, whistling cheerfully as he went.

There was a slight spring in Dib's step as he followed Zim. He couldn't help but feel a bit happier now that Zim had saved him from his father. As a matter of fact, just being with Zim in general made him feel happier. What was it about Zim that cheered him up so much? Why was his former worst enemy such a little ray of sunshine?

As Zim and Dib skipped through the grass with the moon shining down upon them, Dib found himself asking one more question. He hadn't really given the matter much thought over the course of the past few...days? Weeks? Months? How long had it been since he had tripped Zim? However long it had been...he had never really thought about it...

_When Zim gets his memory back...can we still be friends? Or are we...doomed to become enemies again?_


	19. A Notification from Yours Truly

Hey, all, it's LIMBO Dib. I'm sorry for not updating in so long – I really, REALLY am. I just don't like Invader Zim as much as I used to, and I haven't had time to update any fanfiction (I go to a college prep school now – it's HARD). But there's a chance I'll revise this fanfic sometime soon – the ZADR subtext (which I didn't even mean to include…I don't like ZADR, I SWEAR) needs to be removed, and I'm thinking about rewriting it from Dib's POV.

So, uh, sorry for making you wait for an update, guys. If you want to talk about anything, feel free to message me about it. I love you guys, I really do. This is the most popular fanfic I've uploaded here, and…and…oh, I don't know. I have a soft spot for it, even though I can't stand the way I wrote most of it.

Have a great rest of your day.

Love, LIMBO Dib.


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